Pope Benedict XVI: State Visit Funding Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Countess of Mar
Main Page: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)Department Debates - View all Countess of Mar's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Pope Benedict XVI: State Visit Funding
Countess of Mar Excerpts(13 years, 9 months ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Howell of Guildford
No, it is the opposite of odd. It is very even and normal.
The Countess of Mar
Have any other visits by heads of state been funded in this manner?
Lord Howell of Guildford
No. The noble Countess makes a good point; this was a unique visit, as we know, and there has been no basis of comparison with the visits of other heads of state. It was a mixture of a visit by a head of state and a pastoral visit; hundreds of thousands of people were involved and many organisations, including, of course, the Catholic Church.