asked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he is satisfied that a unilateral ban on the import of all whale products into the United Kingdom would be contrary to Community law.

I have been asked to reply.The appropriate way to impose a ban on imports of whale products would be through a decision by the Community, and we have already put this forward and made some progress towards achieving it. A unilateral ban on the import of all whale products would be difficult to defend under Community law.