The House of Commons select committee stopped short of recommending British citizenship to dependent territory subjects yesterday.

Select Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Donald Anderson said the committee, which released an interim report yesterday, said citizenship was "complex'' and required further examination.

It is also thought the committee wants to wait until it hears what Foreign Secretary Robin Cook proposes in today's speech to the Dependent Territories Association before making a recommendation.

But the committee urged that other "practical concerns'' of the dependent territories such as visa access to the European Union, work permits and an end to being treated as a non-British subject at United Kingdom airports be addressed immediately.

The committee said it welcomed an undertaking given by Foreign Office junior minister Baroness Symons to "address practical difficulties relating to access to the United Kingdom''.

"We urge the Government also to address the other difficulties which we have highlighted, particularly in relation to education and training and opportunities to gain work experience,'' the committee said.

"These matters are vital to the ongoing health of some dependent territories, for which the United Kingdom has an ongoing responsibility.'' The committee also supported the proposal that British Dependent Territories now be called British Overseas Territories.

And it proposed that: Each territory's Constitution be regularly reviewed "in line with that territory's development''.

Dependent territory governments be consulted on the appointment of their Governors, as is already the case in Bermuda.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office establish a separate department to administer all the dependent territories; and The FCO make representation of the dependent territories in the UK Parliament "a major issue for the Review''.

Committee member Andrew Mackinlay has moved a private bill which would allow Dependent Territories citizens to elect delegates to the House of Commons and would also allow the leaders of dependent territories to address the Commons.

Mr. Anderson defended the decision not to comment on British citizenship, which many of the territories, including Bermuda, have requested.

He said citizenship raises "very substantial questions'' and noted that some of the territories were not interested in it.

"We saw the most concern not with the abstract concept of citizenship, but with the concrete problems of education training and what happens at Heathrow,'' he said. "These are real points which could be addressed apart from citizenship.'' Committee member Diane Abbott said most members were sympathetic to the idea of citizenship, adding it would solve "many problems''.

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