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Ary. That is one of the matters discussing with the commodity
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Mr. Crawford: If such a centre were to be established, would not Aberdeen he a better place for it than London?
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Mr. Luard: One of our assets answers precisely the supplementary question raised by the hon. Member for Wallasey (Mrs. Chalker) - is that London is an extremely attractive centre for these organisations.\for various reasons. Lon- don happens to be an important commer- cial centre and a centre for commodity markets. I do not think that Aberdeen can provide a surable alternative.
Mr. Henderson :\Rubbish.
Mr. John Davies I support the re- quest of my hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey (Mrs. Chalker). I add that an early intervention may be
bear- necessary, ing in mind that our past experience of giving great and deep thought to these matters over a protracted period has sometimes landed us without the baby that we wanted to get. Does the hon. Gentleman recall the problems that we had with the European Patent Organisa- tion and our regrets that ensued from our rather late entry into the discussions?
Mr. Luard: We are well aware of the urgency. I think that the House will agree that we have treated the matter with some urgency. It is only a few weeks ago that the commodity organisations pre- sented their proposal to us. We have a specific. concrete proposal, which we are considering as urgently as we can.
Hong Kong (Corruption Charges) 7. Mr. Terry Walker asked the Secre- tary of State for Foreign and Common- wealth Affairs if he will make a state- ment about the latest charges. of corrup- tion in Hong Kong.
Mr. Luard: On 7th April 20 serving Hong Kong police officers. four retired police officers and two Customs and Ex- cise inspectors received summonses to appear in court on corruption charges. The Hong Kong Government remain determined to eradicate corruption from the territory. In this they have the full support of Her Majesty's Government.
Mr. Walker: Does my hon. Friend appreciate that the whole status and
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credibility of Hong Kong is undermined by these charges of corruption, especially when they concern police officers? Will he ask my right hon. Friend to have talks urgently with the Hong Kong Gov- ernment to ensure that we get to the bot- tom of the corruption in Hong Kong?
Mr. Luard: 1 entirely agree that this is a major and serious problem. I assure my hon. Friend that we are in continuous contact with the Hong Kong Govern- ment on the matter. He may be interested to know that there have been
police officers on corruption charges since 260 prosecutions and 130 convictions of
the Independent Commission against Cor- ruption was established three or four years ago.
Sir P. Bryan: Does the hon. Gentle- man agree that the commission has had a dramatic effect on corruption in general, and especially on syndicated corruption?
Mr. Luard: I believe that the commis- sion believes that it has largely eradicated large-scale syndicated corruption of the sort to which the hon. Gentleman refers. I agree with the hon. Gentleman. I think that there has been a significant change in Hong Kong as a result of the commis- sion's activities. It would be an incredible task for it totally to eradicate corruption in a place such as Hong Kong, but there has been substantial progress over the past three years or four years.
11. Mr. Hal Miller asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent dismissals from the Royal Hong Kong Police, and on the present state of morale of that force.
Mr. Luard: Notices of compulsory retirement under Colonial Regulation 55 were served on 118 officers of the Royal Hong Kong Police force on 7th April 1978. The force reacted calmly to this action, and continues to carry out its duties effectively.
Mr. Miller: Will the Minister confirm that since those events there has been a very welcome reduction in the crime rate and an increase in the confidence of the public in the Hong Kong police force? Further, will he tell the House what recommendations the Home Office police team in the colony has made and what is being done to give effect to them to
26 APRII
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increase the administrative back-up for the force?
Mr. Luard: I confirm that generally the situation in Hong Kong regarding the police, and public support for the police, is very satisfactory at the present time. I think that recent actions have helped to bring about that situation.
The report of the police team is not yet available. One of the objects of sending out that team was to help to restore morale within the police and to help generally in the improved organisation of the police force in Hong Kong.
Mr. Ronald Atkins: Is the inadequacy of the Hong Kong police force a reason why child labour continues to be employed on a large scale and why so many sweat shops continue to exist in Hong Kong?
Mr. Luard: I think that my hon. Friend knows that the regulations govern- ing the employment of child labour and other conditions of work in Hong Kong have been progressively and dramatically improved in the last year or so.
Gibraltar
10. Mr. Albert Roberts asked the Sec- retary of State for Foreign and Common- wealth Affairs if any progress has been achieved during the recent discussions between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of Spain concerning Gibralta and the outstanding differences between the two countries.
Mr. Judd My right hon. Friend has nothing to add to the report on his meet- ing with the Spanish Foreign Minister on 15th March which he gave to the hon. Member for Ruland and Stamford (Mr. Lewis) on 22nd March.
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Mr. Roberts: Does my hon. Friend 4 realise that we understand the strategic th value of Gibraltar? Does he appreciate' la that this sordid business has gone on since th 1704- over 250 years ago? Does he fur- ΟΙ ther realise that the true indigenous gi people of Gibraltar are Spaniards? Does fa he agree that it is high time that we came to an amicable arrangement?
Mr. Judd: Our basic position remains unchanged. Nationally we
Nationally we want to see the best possible relationships between Gibraltar and Spain, but as a Government are not prepared to envisage \any
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