asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when a decision was taken over the expulsion of the Soviet naval attaché, Captain Anatoli Pavlovich Zotov; and what were the reasons for the delay in making a public announcement.

The Soviet charge d'affaires was requested on 1 December to arrange for the departure of the naval attaché at the Soviet Embassy, Captain A P Zotov, within seven days. It is our usual practice in instances of this kind to take an early and appropriate opportunity to make an announcement at or around the time of departure of the individual concerned.