Mr Alan Clark: I leave that to the hon. Member's judgment. Would he not agree that if the Jaguar car company were to be offered in the City as a single independent entity, it would be perfectly possible to raise the capital not only to produce the Jaguar car but probably to expand its production more effectively and to maintain the whole work force now employed at Browns Lane?
Mr Alan Clark: Is it not true that the Soviet Union enjoys a factor of two and a half times in the reduction of sailing time over our own as a result of the reopening of the Suez Canal and, therefore, that the greatest strategic advantage attaches to the Soviet Union? As a result, is not the maintenance of the base at Gan, which commands the exit to the Red Sea, now of primary importance to this country.
Mr Alan Clark: asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is satisfied with the working of the three-tier speed limit.
Mr Alan Clark: Does not the Minister agree that the lower two of these limits are now almost universally ignored, that the effect on fuel saving, which at the time of their introduction was admitted to be very small, is now virtually non-existent and that the only effect of these restrictions is to exacerbate the relations of the motorist with the police and to increase the work load of the police?
Mr Alan Clark: The point that the hon. Member makes about the lessons of earlier wars is perfectly valid, but as long as this island remains a nation of 55 million people dependent on the outside world for its food and its industrial supplies it is necessary to protect the routes by which those resources come into the country. Surely no lessons from previous wars are required in order to hammer this home.
Mr Alan Clark: I feel, and I hope that I can say it without disrespect to the House, that the defence debates which we have with such commendable frequency have a singularly repetitive character. Sitting below the Gangway on the Government side of the House there are a number of hon. Members who argue, with a greater or lesser degree of articulacy, that we should have virtually no defences, that they are a...
Mr Alan Clark: Does the right hon. Gentleman not agree that a further effective way of reducing the prison population would be to extend to other categories of law-breaker the immunity from criminal prosecution which, on his instructions to the Thames Valley Police, was conferred upon the hippies on the Watchfield pop site?
Mr Alan Clark: I am in sympathy with what the hon. Gentleman has just said. The shop steward would probably make a better job of selling a car than a salesman would make of making one.
Mr Alan Clark: There is little I should like to add to the lucid arguments advanced by my hon. Friends. This is an excellent Bill and I congratulate the Minister on his personal authorship. The motivation behind the Bill is the well-being of the child and the advancement and protection of its interests. Of all the contributions which can be made to that well-being in this initial stage, surely the element...
Mr Alan Clark: asked the Secretary of State for Industry when he expects to put forward proposals for dealing with the problems of Chrysler United Kingdom Ltd.
Mr Alan Clark: In so far as the Ryder Report is credible or even intelligible, does it not predicate that British Leyland should increase its share of the market? Is it not a curious paradox that the moment any symptoms of profitability become apparent, there is talk of further public expenditure to redress the balance?
Mr Alan Clark: asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the discussions with the Icelandic Government concerning fisheries limits.
Mr Alan Clark: Does the Minister agree that the subject of discussions and concessions should be approached with extreme caution? Are not territorial limits at sea likely to assume increasing importance in future not only in fisheries, but in mineral rights, offshore oil and submarine technology? Does he agree that to establish a precedent for making concessions in this respect would be extremely undesirable?
Mr Alan Clark: What about the cracked pavements in Inverness?
Mr Alan Clark: Does the hon. Gentleman agree that there are also Gallup polls which show that the public want either capital punishment or clear evidence that we are working in this House towards the return of capital punishment? Does he believe that equal credence should be given to Gallup polls in both those instances?
Mr Alan Clark: Will the Minister enlighten the House about the balance of payments aspect? If the injection of public money is related to the Iranian contract, it is the equivalent of buying on the foreign exchange market at the rate of $1·30 to the pound. However, if it is followed by deductions for the purchase of kits from France and the remittance of money to the parent company, it is probable that we...
Mr Alan Clark: On the point about transfer pricing, I accept entirely the figures in the Report relating to this matter. Would not the right hon. Lady agree that the disguised transfer of £93 million by the parent company through trading operations in Switzerland is an evasion of the British exchange controls and a fair indicator of the level of reliability which we can expect from this company in...
Mr Alan Clark: asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government intend shortly to become a signatory of the Haagen agreement relating to the abduction of minors.
Mr Alan Clark: Is the Minister aware of the case of my constituent, Mrs. McCartney, whose five-year-old son was snatched by her estranged husband and removed from this country on the basis of a false passport declaration? Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that if we were parties to this agreement the task of enlisting the co-operation of foreign police forces to locate and return such children would be...
Mr Alan Clark: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
