IMMIGRATION (Hansard, 8 July 1965)

§ Q6. Sir C. Osborne
asked the Prime Minister if he will make a further statement on the Government's decisions on the Mountbatten Report on immigration; and if he will now introduce legislation to ban all immigration except for genuine students and professional people who will return to their native countries at the end of a limited stay.

§ The Prime Minister
I would ask the hon. Member to await the statement which is to be made to the House in due course.

§ Sir C. Osborne
In view of the undisputed fact—[Interruption.]—I do not put this question to the monkeys sitting right behind—

§ Mr. English
On a point of order. Is it in order to call an hon. Member a monkey?

Mr. Speaker
I have not the slightest idea to whom it was directed.

§ Sir C. Osborne
When I am trying to ask a very serious question and noises like monkeys are made, I expect them to come from monkeys.

Mr. Speaker
The hon. Gentleman wants to ask a question and he would get on better if he did so.

§ Sir C. Osborne
As the vast majority of people in this country, irrespective of party, want to see a drastic reduction in the number of immigrants into this country, because of the tremendous—[HON. MEMBERS: "Question."]—because of the tremendous—[HON. MEMBERS: "Question."]—

Mr. Speaker
Order. I will deal with it if it is not a question.

§ Sir C. Osborne
I was prefacing my question—because of the tremendous social problems affecting the working-class people of this country—[HON. MEMBERS: "Oh."]—will he not—[Interruption.]

Mr. Speaker
I must ask the House to behave itself. We cannot go on behaving in this fashion. Some responsibility rests on hon. Members. They must not call upon the Chair to be troubling them all the time.

§ Sir C. Osborne
In view of the immense difficulty of this problem, will the Prime Minister promise the House that he will introduce some legislation, or some emergency regulations, before the Summer Recess?

§ The Prime Minister
I agree with the hon. Gentleman to this extent, that this is an extremely important question. I also agree with his concluding words, that it is a very difficult one. It is, therefore, right that the Government should have adequate time not merely to decide, in the light of Lord Mountbatten's report, what the next correct steps should be, but also to have some chance of discussions with the Commonwealth countries. This is what is happening. I can promise the hon. Gentleman that he will have a statement very soon now, at the earliest possible moment that it can be made, having regard to the necessity to consult and discuss the matter with the Commonwealth countries. I very much hope that the statement will be made within a week or two, and certainly before the Recess. As to what it will contain, I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will be prepared to wait and see.

§ Mr. Chapman
When my right hon. Friend makes the statement, will he make sure that he deals with the entry of aliens and of Irish people so that this does not look like a colour bar?

§ The Prime Minister
As the Commonwealth Communiqué showed, Her Majesty's Government made it very clear to our Commonwealth colleagues that, whatever is necessary by way of immigration control, it will not be operated on colour or on racial lines.

§ Mr. Sharples
Will the Prime Minister confirm that he will make his statement in time for there to be a debate on the subject before the Summer Recess?

§ The Prime Minister
The question of a debate is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House. I did not say that I would make the statement. If it is the wish of the House that I should, I shall do so, but it will be more convenient if it is made by one of my right hon. Friends, and it will be made in good time before the Recess.

§ Mr. Michael Foot
Will my right hon. Friend give the House an assurance that 1813 this statement will take into full account the great contribution which immigrants to this country have made in the past, and which they can make in the future? Will he also give us an assurance that nothing will be done to sever relations between families and the people who have been accepted as citizens of this country? Will he ensure that no restrictions are imposed which will prevent them from bringing their families or children to this country? Would not my right hon. Friend agree that any restriction which involved that would be a great infringement of human rights?

§ The Prime Minister
On the first part of my hon. Friend's supplementary question, I am sure that the whole House recognises the great contribution that has been made in this country by immigrants, not least in the hospitals. I am sure that hon. Members and their families know of cases where people's lives have been saved by coloured immigrants. I am sure that that is not in question on either side of the House.
On the second point, I ask my hon. Friend to await the report. My right hon. and learned Friend the Home Secretary gave certain assurances on the points made by my hon. Friend, and he will find that they are honoured. In addition to the statement in the House, we hope to have available a fairly lengthy White Paper dealing with the evasion problem, the control of immigrants, and with the problem which all hon. Members have in mind, that of assimilating the immigrants who are here within the towns and cities in which they live.

§ Mr. Sharples
In view of the assurance given by the Leader of the House in reply to a question from me, will the Prime Minister confirm that he himself will be making the statement?

§ The Prime Minister
I think that this is a matter of convenience. Although one does not usually announce the composition of Cabinet Committees, it is well known that one or two of my right hon. Friends have been closely concerned with this problem. This is a matter of the convenience of the House. I have spent a good deal of time on this problem. If the House wants me to make a statement, I shall do so—I know how anxious hon. 1814 Members are to hear me make a statement—but I should have thought that it would have been more convenient if my right hon. and learned Friend, who has spent so much time on this, dealt with it himself. However, I am very much in the hands of the House in this matter.

§ Mr. Thorpe
Arising out of the supplementary question asked by the hon. Member for Ebbw Vale (Mr. Michael Foot), may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether he accepts that if the Government recognise that the problem is one of integration and that that is the angle to be tackled, and not one of restriction, and he resists the short-term political prejudices which are sweeping certain parts of the House, he will be warmly applauded for taking action which recognises the economic importance of these immigrants and the vital rôle of Britain in the centre of a multi-coloured Commonwealth?

§ The Prime Minister
My advice to the hon. Gentleman is to await the statement and the White Paper. I have said that the White Paper and the statement will deal fully with the problems of assimilation and integration as well as with certain questions which have arisen about the effectiveness of the controls and evasion. The White Paper will, I hope, be comprehensive in its scope, and I ask the hon. Gentleman to await it.