Chapter thirty
Andrew was on his way to the House of Commons when he heard the first reports on his car radio. There had been no mention of the news in the morning papers so it must have happened overnight. It began with a news flash: just the bare details. HMS Broadsword, one of the Navy’s destroyers, had been passing through the Gulf of Surt between Tunis and Benghazi when she was boarded by a group of mercenaries, posing as coast guard officials, who took over the ship in the name of Colonel Gaddafi. The newscaster went on to say that there would be a more detailed report in their ten o’clock bulletin.
Andrew had reached his room in the House of Commons by nine-thirty, and he immediately phoned the SDP leader David Owen to discuss the political implications of the news. Once a course of action had been agreed on Andrew took a handwritten letter round to the Speaker’s office before the noon deadline, requesting an emergency debate following question time that afternoon. He also sent a copy of the letter by messenger to the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for Defense.
By staying near a radio most of the morning Andrew was able to learn that HMS Broadsword was now in the hands of over a hundred guerillas. They were demanding the freedom of all Libyan prisoners in British jails in exchange for the 217-strong crew of the Broadsword, who were being held hostage in the engine room.
By twelve o’clock the ticker-tape machine in the Members’ Corridor was hovered over by craning necks, and the dining rooms were so full that many members had to go without lunch.
Question time that day had been allocated to Welsh Affairs, so the Chamber itself did not start filling up until nearly three-fifteen although the Palace of Westminster was already packed and buzzing with each new snippet of information. Political correspondents waited hawklike in the Members’ Lobby seeking opinions on the crisis from any senior politicians as they passed to and from the Chamber. Few were rash enough to say anything that might be reinterpreted the next day.
When Andrew came into the Chamber he took his seat next to David Owen on the Opposition front bench below the gangway Since Andrew had the overall responsibility for the Alliance Defense portfolio he was expected to represent the other twenty-two Alliance members. At three-twenty-seven the Prime Minister, followed by the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State for Defense, filed into the House and took their places on the Treasury bench. All three looked suitably somber. The last two questions on Welsh Affairs had the largest audience of members since the Aberfan disaster of 1966.
At three-thirty Mr. Speaker Weatherill rose and called for order.
“Statements to the House,” he announced in his crisp, military style. “There will be two statements on HMS Broadsword before the House debates Welsh Affairs.” The Speaker then called the Secretary of State for Defense.
Simon Kerslake rose from the front bench and placed a prepared statement on the dispatch box in front of him.
“Mr. Speaker, with your permission and that of the House, I would like to make a statement concerning Her Majesty’s frigate Broadsword. At seven-forty GMT this morning HMS Broadsword was passing through the Gulf of Surt between Tunis and Benghazi when a group of guerillas, posing as official coast guards, boarded the ship and seized the officer in command, Captain Lawrence Packard, and placed the crew under arrest. The captain and his company did everything possible to resist but were outnumbered three to one. The guerillas, claiming to represent the People’s Liberation Army, have since placed Captain Packard and the crew in the engine room of the ship. As far as it is possible to ascertain from our Embassy in Tripoli no lives have been lost, although Captain Packard sustained severe injuries during the battle, and we cannot be certain of his fate. There is no suggestion that Broadsword was doing anything other than going about her lawful business. This barbaric act must be looked upon as piracy under the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas. The guerillas are demanding the release of all Libyan prisoners in British prisons in exchange for the return of HMS Broadsword and her crew. My Right Honorable friend, the Home Secretary, informs me there are only nine known Libyans in British jails at the present time, two of whom have been sentenced to three months for persistent shoplifting, two who were convicted on more serious drug charges, and the five who tried to hijack a British Airways 747 last year. Her Majesty’s Government cannot and will not interfere with the due process of law and has no intention of releasing any of these men.”
Loud “Hear, hears,” came from all sections of the House.
“My Right Honorable friend, the Foreign Secretary, has made Her Majesty’s Government’s position clear to the Libyan Ambassador, in particular that Her Majesty’s Government cannot be expected to tolerate this sort of treatment of British subjects or of British property. We have demanded and expect immediate action from the Libyan Government.”
Simon sat down to loud and prolonged cheers before the leader of the Opposition rose from his place to say that he would wish it to be known that the Opposition gave the Govemment their full backing. He asked if any plans had been formulated at this early stage for the recovery of Broadsword.
Simon rose again. “We are, Mr. Speaker, at present seeking a diplomatic solution, but I have already chaired a meeting of the Joint Chiefs and I anticipate making a further statement to the House tomorrow.”
“Mr. Andrew Fraser,” said the Speaker.
Andrew rose from his place. “May I inform the Right Honorable Gentleman that we in the Alliance also concur with his views that this is an act of piracy. But can he tell the House how long he will allow negotiations to continue when it is well known throughout the diplomatic world that Gaddafi is a master of procrastination, especially if we were to rely on the United Nations to adjudicate on this issue?” From the noise that greeted Andrew’s question it seemed that his views were shared by the majority of the House.
Simon rose to answer the question. “I accept the point the Honorable Gentleman is making but he will know, having been a Minister of State for Defense himself, that I am not in a position to divulge any information which might imperil the safety of Broadsword.”
Question after question came at Simon. He handled them with such confidence that visitors to the Strangers Gallery would have found it hard to believe that he had been invited to join the Cabinet only five weeks before.
At four-fifteen, after Simon had answered the last question the Speaker was going to allow, he sank back on the front bench to listen to the statement from the Foreign Office. The House fell silent once again as the Foreign Secretary rose from his place and checked the large double-spaced sheets in front of him. All eyes were now on the tall, elegant man who was making his first official statement since his appointment.
“Mr. Speaker, with your permission and that of the House, I too would like to make a statement concerning HMS Broadsword. Once news had reached the Foreign Office this morning of the plight of Her Majesty’s ship Broadsword my office immediately issued a strongly worded statement to the Government of Libya. The Libyan Ambassador has been called to the Foreign Office and I shall be seeing him again immediately this statement and the questions arising from it has been completed.”