asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will ensure that those British troops sent to Zimbabwe-Rhodesia contains substantially the same racial balance as that which pertains for the British Army as a whole.

No records are kept of the racial balance within the British Army. It is, therefore, not possible to give the assurance requested about the British contingent of the monitoring organisation which is on standby for deployment to Southern Rhodesia. I can, however, give an assurance that no special selection on grounds of race has been made.