§ Dr. John Reid (Motherwell, North)On a point of order, Madam Speaker. I notified your office of my point of order this morning. As you know, in nine days' time the eyes of the nation will be upon us as we hold a ceremony in the House to commemorate the end of the second world war.
§ Mr. Norman Hogg (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth)In Europe.
§ Dr. ReidNo, the end of the second world war. Both VE day and VJ day will be commemorated at the same time.
The eyes of the world will be on us; Her Majesty will be here and you, Madam Speaker, will play a prominent part. Among other things, we shall commemorate the sacrifices of the people during that period. Obviously we shall also commemorate the leading role of our greatest war leader, Winston Churchill, whose statue, as it stands in Parliament square overlooking the Houses of Parliament, will be a focus of attention.
Have you had a chance to look at that statue recently, Madam Speaker? At present it is surrounded by fences, cranes and building materials, and it looks like something out of the blitz. Would it be in order for you, in your capacity as our main representative, to seek from Ministers some assurance that by next Friday all that will be cleared up, so that when the world's eyes are focused on us both Churchill, who will be symbolically remembered on that day, and the House will be in a state to celebrate those commemorations fittingly?
§ Madam SpeakerYes, I am pleased to inform the House that I have been told by the Minister whom I believe has some responsibility for that area that London Underground and its contractors have been instructed to remove the hoardings and to make good the site in advance of the ceremony. That will include not only cleaning up the statue of Sir Winston Churchill but tidying up the entire area. The Minister responsible is here, and I shall hold him to that.
§ Mr. Mike Gapes (Ilford, South)On a point of order, Madam Speaker. May I draw to your attention a report in today's edition of The Daily Telegraph suggesting that the British taxpayer will be expected to pay £40 million in compensation to Hong Kong civil servants over the next two years? The money will not come out of the Hong Kong Exchequer, which contains £11 billion that will be paid to the Chinese in 1997. Is it not an absolute disgrace that that money is to be paid at a time when the Government are grudgingly—
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. That is not a point of order at all; it is certainly nothing to do with me.