§ 21. Mr. WatersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the German Government about the payment of compensation to Channel islanders interned in Nazi Germany during the last war; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Heathcoat-AmoryWe have raised the matter with the German Government on many occasions and at many levels. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary raised it with Foreign Minister Kinkel on 12 September 1992. The Germans told us definitively on 7 April that they were not prepared to give the Channel islanders any form of compensation or settlemenp. They said that this decision has been taken at a high political level, and made it clear that they would not reconsider it. We are disappointed by the decision, but I regret that we see no practicable way of taking the Channel islanders' claims any further.