§ Sir John Biggs-Davisonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what part the United Kingdom is playing in the anti-piracy programmes so far as assistance to Thailand is concerned.
§ Mr. RentonThe United Kingdom continues, with others, to help combat the scourge of piracy against boat refugees in the Gulf of Thailand. Since 1982 we have made annual contributions, totalling £335,000, to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for use in the Thai Government's anti-piracy programme. The incidence of piracy remains distressingly high, but since the inception of the anti-piracy programme there has been a welcome reduction in the number of incidents.