Examination of Witnesses (Questions 120
- 125)
TUESDAY 16 MAY 2000
SIR JOHN
KERR, KCMG, DR
PETER COLLECOTT,
MRS DENISE
HOLT AND
MR DAVID
REDDAWAY
120. You are not responsible but do you have
a stewardship of it in any way?
(Sir John Kerr) No, I do not.
121. I see. So can you just clarify the inter-relationship?
To what extent is MI6 Foreign Office?
(Sir John Kerr) In terms of the Diplomatic Vote there
is a complete cut off between the Diplomatic Service and the Home
Civil Service on the one hand, and the Secret Intelligence Service
on the other. I am not their Accounting Officer, I am not responsible
for them.
122. Okay, wrong forum, eh?
(Sir John Kerr) The division has got even clearer
than it used to be because we have agreed with those in the Secret
Intelligence Service a full cost charging system for cases where
they use our services and vice versa. A PES transfer has taken
place. You can find it in these papers if you have a very good
microscope but that was a PES transfer from us to them in order
that they may in future pay the proper full cost charge for services
previously given without charge. That is the only respect in which
there has in the past been an overlap.
Chairman
123. Sir John, you mentioned that we have not
covered British Trade International. The reason is simple: the
Committee will be meeting your colleague Sir David Wright on 6
July at a joint meeting with the DTI. One final sweep up matter.
An objective step change in our relationship with Europe, both
the European Union and candidate countries, what can we expect
over the year or so ahead? What are your objectives and how do
you intend to implement them?
(Sir John Kerr) You can expect a huge amount of activity.
The number of visits, contacts, meetings between us and our European
partners has grown enormously. I do not know what the results
will be. But I think myself that there have already been indications
of the benefit. When the Bundesrat voted the right way, from the
British point of view, on beef, I think that owed a good deal
to contacts by Ambassador Lever but also contacts from London
with a lot of State governments, contacts that have not happened
enough in the past.
124. With the lander representatives?
(Sir John Kerr) With the Lander representatives,
exactly, represented in the Bundesrat. I do not want to try to
pre-empt the hearings you will doubtless be having on the approach
to the European Council in Feira at the end of this term, but
I myself think that the Intergovernmental Conference is going
rather well. I think that the Enlargement negotiations still need
further speeding up, and on the old familiar theme of agriculture
we still do need to effect further reform of the Common Agricultural
Policy, for WTO reasons, for Enlargement reasons and budgetary
reasons.
125. As I say, we shall return to that with
the Minister. Can I conclude in this way, Sir John: the Committee
really felt that the report this year was a distinct improvement
on its predecessor, and a lot of very helpful improvements have
been made. We look to further improvements next year. We look
forward also to a number of clarifications in terms of letters
to colleagues. I think it has been a most valuable session. On
behalf of the Committee, may I thank you and indeed your colleagues.
(Sir John Kerr) Improvements to the report I deserve
no credit for; she does.
|
