§ Q1. Mr. Christopher Priceasked the Prime Minister whether he will pay an official visit to Lewisham.
§ The Prime Minister (Mr. James Callaghan)I have at present no plans to do so, Sir.
§ Mr. PriceIs the Prime Minister aware that he is always welcome in the borough of Lewisham, of which he and his family were such distinguished residents for so long? Is he further aware that the borough of Lewisham has a good record of race relations, although there is now great fear that the difficulties in west and east London, involving the cancer of racialism, are spreading to other parts of London? Does he agree with the Archbishop of Canterbury's condemnation of racialism, and will he ensure that the Director of Public Prosecutions has sufficient resources to bring to trial very quickly indeed those people against whom there is a case of infringement, through speech, of the Race Relations Act?
§ The Prime MinisterI am grateful to my hon. Friend for his invitation. I have always found Lewisham a very happy place, particularly during my courting days many years ago in Labour Party committee rooms during General Elections. To turn to more serious matters—[Interruption.] There is always room for a little fun and games in between canvassing.
If I may turn to the serious part of the supplementary question, I am sure that the whole House welcomed the terms of the remarks made by the Archbishop of Canterbury yesterday, in which he condemned the deplorable events of recent days. I especially welcomed his call to the Christian community to beware falling into a trap.
As regards the other considerations, I can tell my hon. Friend that some of these matters are already in the hands of the Director of Public Prosecutions. I have no intimation that he does not have the necessary resources available. However, that is a matter for my right hon. and 304 learned Friend the Attorney-General. I shall draw my hon. Friend's remarks to his attention.
I wish to add that all of us who have experience of the Asian community feel that they are extremely industrious and hard-working citizens and therefore are entitled to live without fear, as are other citizens in this country. I know that the police will fully carry out the duty of protecting every citizen in this country. We shall bring the due processes of law to bear against those who abuse the rights of those citizens.
§ Mr. LaneWhen the Prime Minister next visits Lewisham or any other inner city area, will he do something to correct the growing impression that the Government are failing to keep up the attack on urban deprivation, because these matters have become increasingly urgent, requiring more resources to be devoted to those areas?
§ The Prime MinisterI shall look into this matter. I hope that what the hon. Gentleman said is not true. The other day I had a meeting with a group of my colleagues who believe that one of the major priorities of government relates to urban deprivation in inner cities, where young people are growing up, sometimes without jobs. I shall examine the point made by my hon. Friend because it seems to me that this is one of the festering cankers that we shall have to remove. It is a question of priorities. The hon. Gentleman calls for more resources. I must tell him that if the Government are to spend more resources in this sphere they will have to spend less in others.
§ Mr. Cyril SmithIf the Prime Minister visits Lewisham and has any talks there about race relations, will he bear in mind that the problems of good race relations are not confined to London boroughs? Will he remember that there are many parts of the country, my own constituency being one of them, which have large numbers of immigrants living in them? If the Government are to have talks with any groups about the fostering of good race relations—and I am sure that hon. Members on both sides of the House subscribe to the view expressed by the Prime Minister in his last answer —will the right hon. Gentleman ensure that any such talks involve Members from more than one side of the House 305 and, indeed, from more than one part of the country?
§ The Prime MinisterThat is a very constructive suggestion. Of course, the Government must take responsibility, and if leaders of the communities wish to see Ministers such as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department they must see them. But I am certain that the Home Secretary, through the Race Relations Board, the Community Relations Commission, or in any other way, will be anxious and ready to involve Members of all parties to try to present a united front on this issue.