463
Questions to Ministers
to/Min
23 APRIL 1980
Mr. Spriggs: I thank you for your statement, Mr. Speaker, but may I draw your attention to the other side of the coin in relation to Departments and Ministers? I have recently put down questions to Ministers and been told in reply that, because of the disproportionate costs of finding out the information which I required, they were/not able to give me the answer. When I have asked the Ministers concerned to tell me what the costs were to which they referred, they still did not give me the answer. Would you have a look at that side of the/coin, Mr. Speaker?
Mr. Speaker: I am much obliged to the House for the way in which it has responded, I suggest that we have this experimental period at least until the spring bank holiday, which, I think, is about five weeks away. We shall then look at it again, but I hope that it will work in the interests of the House.
Iran
464
IRAN
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr. Douglas Hurd): With permission, Mr. Speaker, I cision by the Foreign Ministers of the shall make a statement on yesterday's de-
members of the European Community concerning Iran. I am arranging for a copy of the text of the approved com- muniqué to be published in the Official Report.
As the House will recall, my right hon. and noble Friend and his colleagues had adopted a decision in Lisbon on 10 April which was, in effect, a last appeal to the in conformity with international law. Our authorities in Iran to release the hostages
ambassadors in Tehran were instructed to convey this appeal to the Iranian President and to request him to name the date and method by which the hostages would be released. They did so on 12 April. Mr. Bani Sadr's reply was unsatis- factory. The most he would say was that he hoped that a decision on the future of the hostages would be taken by the new Iranian Parliament when it had been elected and established. While holding out the prospect that visits to the hostages might be arranged, he could give no firm assurance as to when the Parliament might meet, or whether it could be relied upon to act as he hoped.
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When this matter came up in this House and in another place on 14 April, the mood of the House was unmistakable, and the phrase the utmost solidarity with the United States" was used from the Benches on both sides. There was a general feeling that diplomatic methods had, for the time being at least, been ex- hausted and that the time had come to find some more concrete and far-reaching way of expressing our abhorrence at the continued defiance of the rules of inter- national behaviour and the opinions of the civilised world.
The House will I hope, find this mood reflected in the decision adopted yester- day in Luxembourg. In accordance with a suggestion made last week by the United Kingdom, it was decided to proceed in two stages. In the first stage, the Nine will put into effect to the extent that they are not in force already certain measures mainly of a political nature. We shall re- duce still further our embassy staffs in
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