HC Deb 08 April 2003 vol 403 cc189-90W
Mr. Rosindell

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Graham Island. [106862]

Mr. MacShane

Graham Island is the tip of a small volcano 30 miles off the coast of Sicily which emerges from the sea occasionally for short periods. In 1831 the Royal Navy claimed it but in 1832 it re-submerged. We doubt whether the 1831 claim subsists and have never sought to revive it. We understand that the Italian government claims the island.