§ 24. Mr. St. John-Stevasasked the Minister of Public Building and Works if he will place a plaque in Westminster Hall to commemorate the trial of Sir Thomas More, sometime Lord High Chancellor of England and Speaker of the House of Commons.
§ Mr. MellishI have already approached those who have authority over Westminster Hall.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasI am extremely grateful to the Minister for that sympathetic reply. Is he aware that Sir Thomas More is universally recognised as being 16 one of the greatest of Englishmen, and, incidentally, the only Speaker of the House to have been both beheaded and canonised—in one of which precedents I trust that you will follow him, Mr. Speaker.
§ Mr. SpeakerI hope that I have guessed the right one.
§ Mr. C. PannellIs my right hon. Friend aware that we understand his modesty in this matter to the extent that he is a distinguished Catholic himself, but will he convey to the Establishment, which in the past has always got in the way of this project, merely on the Catholic issue, that the view expressed by the hon. Member for Chelmsford (Mr. St. John-Stevas) is shared throughout the whole world, and that all those people who revere Parliament think that Sir Thomas More should be recognised within the House?
§ Mr. MellishI hope that this matter can be satisfactorily solved, and I also hope very much that we can put up a plaque.