§ Mr. Arthur Lewis (Newham, North-West)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I am sorry that I have not had an opportunity to give you adequate notice of the point that I wish to raise—[Interruption.] If any hon. Member wishes to try to shout me down, will you please explain to him that I am the last person he should try to shout down because my voice is loud enough to overcome the opposition?
This morning I listened to an important BBC radio programme called "Checkpoint". The programme dealt solely with a matter that I have been trying to raise in the House for 20 years. I am not getting at any Government or any Minister, but every Member of the House. It is no laughing matter. Every hon. Member shares the collective responsibility for keeping 5,000 innocent people in prison, some of them for as long as two years, without trial and without the opportunity of stating their case. They come out after two years, having been told by a judge that they should never have been there. These people cannot obtain compensation and often lose their homes, jobs and businesses.
We are responsible, but we cannot ask questions about those cases because, technically, those 5,000 people are awaiting trial and the matter is sub judice. When, after two years, they are released, having been found innocent of all charges, we are then told that there is no ministerial responsibility. We cannot ask questions and they cannot obtain compensation unless they wish to go to the law again and lose much more money. It is shocking that every hon. Member condemns the Soviet Union, Argentina and other countries but that you, Mr. Speaker, I, and all of us have kept in prison 5,000 people who have committed no crime. They have no chance.
In Scotland, if the police take no action the prisoners are let out on remand after 100 days. May we have similar legislation here? If an unconvicted person has been in prison on remand for a reasonable period, may we come to you, Mr. Speaker, and ask for your permission to put down a question—you may consider that one month or two months would be reasonable—about when that person will be given a chance to come to trial? If, God forbid, I went outside now and shot the Lord Chancellor's wife in front of police witnesses, I would have a better opportunity of being treated decently than those who have committed no crime.
I ask hon. Members to obtain a copy of the transcript of that BBC programme. They would not sit there laughing. They would be disgusted that they have allowed this to go on for so long.
§ Mr. Harry Greenway (Ealing, North)Further to that point of order—
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. Not "further", surely.
The House will be aware that I was kinder in listening to the hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Lewis) than I would have been to any Privy Councillor. I shall consider what he said and and communicate with him, because I realise that he has raised an important matter. However, I doubt whether I can do anything about it.