HC Deb 09 May 1956 vol 552 cc1223-6
Mr. Fenner Brockway

I am sorry to delay the House, Mr. Speaker, but I want to ask your permission to move the Adjournment of the House on another matter, of which I have given you notice. I ask permission, under Standing Order No.9, to move the Adjournment of the House on a definite matter of urgent public importance, namely, the decision of the Governor of Cyprus to maintain the execution of two Cypriots, the effect of which may be disastrous to the furtherance of a peaceful settlement.

May I say, Sir, that I am aware of the rule of the House which says that we must not discuss the fate of men sentenced to death before either a reprieve is granted or the execution takes place. I wish to raise this matter not primarily because of the fate of the men, but because of the serious effects that it will have in Cyprus in relation to the furtherance of a settlement there.

Mr. Speaker

The hon. Member asks permission under Standing Order No.9 to move the Adjournment of the House on a definite matter of urgent public importance, namely, the decision of the Governor of Cyprus to maintain the execution of two Cypriots, the effects of which may be disastrous to the furtherance of a peaceful settlement.

The hon. Member was good enough to say that he was aware of the rule of the House which prevents the House from discussing on the Adjournment or otherwise a sentence of death before its execution. It is an old-established custom of the House.

A very clear and considered Ruling on this matter was given by my predecessor in the Chair on 10th March, 1947, when dealing with another colonial case. That clearly lays down the practice of the House, by which I am bound, that such a matter cannot be raised on the Adjournment of the House.

With regard to the other matters which the hon. Member attaches to this, the really definite matter is that of the capital sentences. The other matters are not definite or urgent. Therefore, I am bound by the rule of the House to decline to find that this comes within the Standing Order.

Mr. Shinwell

I was under the impression, Mr. Speaker, that the rule to which you have just referred, which is familiar to hon. Members, applied almost exclusively in the case where the Home Secretary is involved; that is to say, in a case where a civilian in this country has been sentenced to death and is at the point of execution. Obviously, the matter cannot be raised in such an instance.

Surely this is a quite different matter. This is a matter quite outside the Prerogative or jurisdiction of the Home Secretary. It is a matter concerning the action taken by a Governor, who presumably is responsible either to the Colonial Secretary or to Her Majesty's Government as a whole. Surely in those circumstances the rule does not apply.

Mr. Speaker

If the right hon. Gentleman will consult the Ruling of my predecessor to which I have referred—that was a colonial case—he will find the argument which he has put before the House and before me dealt with and rejected. The real point is that it is a question of the Royal Prerogative. In so far as the Secretary of State for the Colonies has any responsibility for advising Her Majesty as to any residuary Prerogative which she may have in the matter, he is in exactly the same position as the Home Secretary would be had it been the case of a capital sentence on a subject in this country.

Mr. J. Griffiths

While being aware of and appreciating the Ruling which you have given Mr. Speaker which is in conformity with a Ruling given by your predecessor in similar circumstances I would point out that my hon. Friend the Member for Eton and Slough (Mr. Fenner Brockway) has made a submission to you which I should like to support. It is that the news that we have had from Cyprus through the newspapers following this decision indicates quite clearly that the internal situation in Cyprus in consequence of the decision is deteriorating and is likely to deteriorate still further. Does that not therefore create a new situation of urgency which brings my hon. Friend's Motion within the compass of Standing Order No.9?

Mr. Speaker

Naturally, I considered that aspect of the matter, but, on reflection, I find that I could not justify to my own conscience the breaking of the rules of the House for such a reason. No doubt in many cases where this most unfortunate and tragic circumstance is put to the Speaker certain other possible reasons and circumstances would be alleged, but the central point of the matter is the Prerogative of mercy and its exercise, and on that I must adhere to the rules of the House, by which I am bound rigidly.

Mr. Griffiths

If, in the view of hon. Members, this is an opportunity of making submissions to the Government that this action ought to be reconsidered in view of its possible effect in Cyprus on the prospects of a settlement, would that not bring the matter within the Standing Order and thus enable the House to express an opinion?

Mr. Speaker

No, I fear it would not. I am not at all concerned with limiting in any way any such representations as hon. Members may care to make to the Government. That is their concern and not mine. I am concerned only with what is done in this House, and I am bound to adhere to the Ruling which I have given, because I think it is the right one.

Mr. K. Robinson

May I seek your guidance, Mr. Speaker, following your Ruling? I do not know whether you are aware that less than an hour ago a statement on this matter was made by a Government spokesman in another place, in reply to a noble Lord. Can you tell us why there is this difference of procedure between the two Houses? Also, can you tell us how this matter can be raised in the House in view not only of the tragic consequences in Cyprus but also of the situation which now exists in this country in connection with the death penalty?

Mr. Speaker

I cannot answer for what happens in another place. They have their own rules there, and it is not for me to comment on them. I am bound by the rules of this House, and the decision that I have given is in conformity with those rules.

As to advising hon. Members on how to raise the matter, the Ruling given so far is to the effect that the question of the capital sentences cannot before their execution be raised in this House. The situation in Cyprus is quite another matter, but I am bound by the rules of the House. There is nothing further that I can say in the matter.

Mr. Griffiths

Might I ask for your guidance, Mr. Speaker. My hon. Friend the Member for St. Pancras, North (Mr. K. Robinson) says that a spokesman for the Government has made a statement upon this matter in another place. Does that mean that the other place does not come under the same rules as the House of Commons in relation to matters of this kind?

Mr. Speaker

In another place they have their own rules, which are not the rules of this House. I am responsible only for this House.