§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has obtained about the whereabouts of Camilla Carr and Jon Jones; and if he will make a statement. [26460]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonWe do not know where or in what conditions Camilla Carr and Jon James are held. With the Centre for Peacemaking and Community Development, we are doing all we can to bring about their safe release. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has raised the case several times—most recently with President Yeltsin on 9 January. The President promised that Russia would do all it could to help. My right hon. Friends the Foreign Secretary and the Home Secretary have also contacted their Russian counterparts. The British Ambassador in Moscow is in frequent contact with the Russian and Chechen authorities to emphasise the high priority we attach to resolving this distressing case, swiftly and peacefully. A British police team visited Moscow and Nazran in December for discussions with the Russian and Chechen security authorities.