§ Mr. CormackTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will summon the Saudi Arabian ambassador to demand that Mr. Allan Nicklin, currently detained in Saudi Arabia against his will, be allowed to leave the kingdom immediately; and if he will make a full statement about the circumstances of Mr. Nicklin's detention.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydAs my hon. Friend is aware, Mr. Nicklin was first detained in August 1990 when the insurance company of which he was chief executive, Western Agencies Ltd. (WAL) (Jedda), incurred debts which it could not meet because of the failure of two United States underwriters to meet the claims of its parent company, WAL (Cyprus), He was released, although not free to leave Saudi Arabia, in November 1990, re-arrested in November 1991 and released into his sponsor's custody in January 1992. Although Mr. Nicklin was later cleared of personal liability for the debts, he has not obtained his exit visa.
We have repeatedly raised Mr. Nicklin's case at high level with the Saudi authorities, who are trying to resolve this complicated commercial dispute. Most recently, I told the Saudi ambassador on 22 October 1992 of the deep concern of Her Majesty's Government at Mr. Nicklin's continued detention. The ambassador again promised to do what he could to help. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs does not therefore propose at present to summon the ambassador to see him.