§ Mr. Steenasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will comment on the work that has been undertaken to improve international standards of aviation security in view of the security incidents that occurred during 1985.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerWe have been very much encouraged by the work of the International Civil Aviation Organisation in revising international standards of aviation security. This work was set in hand at the ICAO council meeting which I attended on 27 June, following the TWA hijacking and other recent attacks on civil aviation. On 19 December the ICAO adopted a revised annex 17 to the Chicago convention containing more rigorous international standards and improved recommended practices for aviation security. I have written to the secretary general of the ICAO and the president of the ICAO council to congratulate them on having carried out this work at a speed that few other international organisations have ever matched.