Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 25 October 1989.
Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith
, Wealden
12:00,
25 October 1989
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if his Department will make further representations to the Egyptian Government regarding the failure of the Egyptian authorities to return to Mr. Douglas Forsyth control and possession of his villa in Egypt.
Hon. Tim Sainsbury
, Hove
No. Mr. Forsyth's father accepted compensation from funds provided by Egypt under the 1959 agreement for the presence of a sitting tenant when the villa was handed back.
Sir Geoffrey Johnson Smith
, Wealden
My hon. Friend will understand that that is a very disappointing reply. Is he aware that the compensation paid to the Forsyth family was in respect of capital depreciation and that there is not a scrap of evidence to support the Foreign Office's contention that that was in any way compensation for loss of the control and possession of their villa, to which they are entitled under the Anglo-Egyptian agreement of 1959? As this family has been virtually defrauded by the attitude of the Foreign Office, will the Minister agree to meet me and the family so that we may see justice done and discuss this very legal point?
Hon. Tim Sainsbury
, Hove
I congratulate my hon. Friend on the energy and diligence with which he has pursued this case over a long period. He knows that the facts go back a long way. I am unhappy to have to say that our interpretations of the legal position do not agree. The advice I have received does not confirm his view that Mr. Forsyth's father did not receive compensation for the loss of vacant possession of his villa. I shall be happy to see my hon. Friend to discuss the matter further.
Dennis Skinner
Member, Labour Party National Executive Committee
Has the Anglo-Egyptian house compensation system been drawn to the attention of the Chancellor of the exchequer, who got kicked out of his house by the Prime Minister, acting like Lady Porter? What sort of a points system is the Government running when they kick out a man with a family and kids and put in a bloke who has no family?
Mr Bernard Weatherill
, Croydon North East
Order. I do not think that it is in Egypt, is it?
Hon. Tim Sainsbury
, Hove
The hon. Gentleman raises his point of view with his usual ingenuity and delicacy. However, I fear that I cannot find any particular connection with the villa in Egypt and Mr. Forsyth.
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