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British Nationality
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[LORD TREFGARNE.] anyway, because they are within the prescribed relation- ships with the United Kingdom. Secondly, it would make a minority of the few hundred people of the Falkland Islands British citizens on commencement, as well as citizens of the British dependent territories, instead of simply the latter. Thirdly, it would allow the transmission of British citizenship indefinitely through the generations in the Falkland Islands something not enjoyed by British citizens in any other dependency or, indeed, in any other country of the world.
Other dependencies have claims on our affections, too. They, too, have close ties with us in various ways and would no doubt argue that, if the people of the Falkland Islands should become on commencement British citizens, then they equally should enjoy con- cessions. Indeed, as my noble friend Lord Geddes, with all his experience of Hong Kong, put it when we last discussed this matter:
"... if precedents are set with respect to any of the dependent territories I can find no persuasive reason why those same arguments should not apply to all the dependent territories ".
We cannot simply ignore this argument. If this amendment is accepted, then it is bound to lead to great bitterness and resentment in other dependent territories and there will be pressure for concessions which, if met, would jeopardise the whole basis of this Bill. Such concessions would defeat any prospect of a scheme of citizenship which reflected people's real connections, and they would wreck any chance of removing the uncertainty and confusion which bedevils our current citizenship arrangements. We cannot grant British citizenship to the peoples of one dependent territory and expect the others to stand idly by.
I know that it has been argued that the original settlement of the Falkland Islands solely by people from the United Kingdom has put them in a special position. But whatever may have happened in the past there is no argument in equity or in logic that a British citizen of whatever generation in the Falkland Islands should be able to transmit his citizenship to his children born there but that a British citizen in any other dependency or in any other country of the world should not.
It is not as though the Falkland Islands is the only place overseas where people of United Kingdom descent have settled. There must be in the other dependencies alone many more people of United Kingdom descent living there than there are in the Falkland Islands. Taking in Commonwealth and foreign countries, the number of British citizens of United Kingdom origin living overseas is probably of the order of 2 or 3 million.
It may be argued that we have already breached the principle that British citizenship should be confined to those who have close ties with the United Kingdom as a consequence of the amendment made by your Lordships which enables people from Gibraltar to acquire citizenship upon application. But I do not for a moment accept that. First, the Government have made clear their firm opposition to that amend- ment. Secondly, that amendment only gave people from Gibraltar an entitlement to British citizenship on application-and I emphasise those words "on
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application "by virtue of Gibraltar's connections. with the European Community. It does not make people from Gibraltar British citizens automatically when the Bill comes into force. It would simply enable them to acquire British citizenship if they so wished.
My noble friend Lord Bethell in winding up the argument for the Gibraltar amendment said-and I am quoting my noble friend again:
“I submit that the signature of the Treaty of Rome and the special mention of Gibraltar made in 1973 [in relation to the European Community] changes the issue completely ".—[Official Report; 22/7/81; col. 276.]
That was the argument put forward by the supporters of the Gibraltar amendment. This amendment on the other hand would confer British citizenship auto- matically on the peoples of the Falkland Islands. Unlike the peoples of any other dependent territory, they would thus become not only citizens of British dependent territories but also British citizens. This would indeed be a very significant breach of the principles of this Bill and would be quite unacceptable. So I have to say that while we admire my noble friend's advocacy and ingenuity, I fear that we cannot accept her amendment. But in advising your Lord- ships to reject it I am by no means rejecting the claims of the peoples of the Falkland Islands upon us. As I have said, nothing in the Bill affects the relationship between the United Kingdom and the Falkland Islands. Nothing in the Bill affects in any way the Government's obligation to the Falkland Islands and its citizens. We shall preserve the right of abode held by very many islanders now, and we have given re- peated assurances that in the event of any emergency problems of anyone from the Islands who does not possess the right of abode in the United Kingdom and who was in trouble at the time would be most carefully and sympathetically considered.
We shall continue to look after the interests of the peoples of the Falkland Islands and to do all we can to meet their concerns. The implication of some comments, that citizenship of the British dependent territories is in some sense an unworthy or inferior citizenship is a disservice to the Falkland Islands and to all the dependent territories and their peoples. After all, what we are doing in this Bill in citizenship terms in relation to the United Kingdom and the dependent territories is to divide a composite citizen- ship of the United Kingdom and Colonies into two separate but parallel citizenships. It is no mark of inferiority that citizenship of the British dependent territories does not carry the right of abode in the United Kingdom, any more than that British citizens will not have the right of abode in the dependent territories. These are two parallel citizenships. We may all have an instinctive dislike and even fear of change in well established statuses, but we must not allow this to prevent us from following through much needed reforms. For these reasons, I hope that my noble friend does not press her amendment, but if she does I hope your Lordships will vote against it.
6.17 p.m.
Lord Geddes: My Lords, I am most grateful to my noble friend Lord Trefgarne for doing me the honour of quoting what I said in the Committee stage of your
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