HC Deb 17 May 1978 vol 950 cc441-3
1. Mr. Monro

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what action he proposes to take to implement the report on football crowd behaviour, 1977.

The Under-Secretary of State for Scotland (Mr. Frank McElhone)

I have asked the Scottish Football Association to draw the attention to clubs to the recommendations affecting them directly. A Bill is at present before the House which will enable the courts to impose community service orders on football hooligans. I shall shortly be discussing with football bodies community projects involving clubs and young supporters. My right hon. Friend and I are considering what further action might be taken in the light of comments that we have received.

Mr. Monro

Does the Minister agree that there is much in the Bill to be commended? I hope that he will make further progress in bringing it to the notice of the public generally. In order to set an example, will the Scottish Office announce soon the expected grant of £4 million to improve Hampden Park?

Mr. McElhone

That is another question, of course. The hon. Member, who takes a keen interest in the Hampden Park project, will know that discussions are going on and that we are considering the costs of the project. I thank him for his comments on the Bill and assure him that I will pass them on to my hon. Friend who is dealing with it.

Mr. Canavan

Since St. Johnstone supporters are normally well behaved, is there any rational explanation for the savage invasion of Perth last week, when hanging, flogging and even the firing squad were being demanded by a crowd of Tory reactionaries, ably led by an infamous political hooligan from Cathcart?

Mr. McElhone

I am extremely worried about crowd behaviour, especially what I saw on the television screen from Perth. The hon. Member for North Angus and Mearns (Mr. Buchanan-Smith) warned the Leader of the Opposition and the Conservative Party about extremism. It is to his credit that he spoke in those terms at Perth. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question.

Mr. Welsh

How closely has the Minister been following experiments in England and Wales with Saturday afternoon detention centres for football hooligans and rowdies, and what plans does he have to extend that system to Scotland?

Mr. McElhone

If the hon. Gentleman will study the report of the football working party, which received a great deal of praise from the authorities in England, he will see that many measures are discussed there, including taking care of the hooligans in a punitive sense as well as looking at the problem in an educational sense.

Dr. Bray

What plans does my hon. Friend have to explore football crowd behaviour in Argentina?

Mr. McElhone

I understand that that is at the discretion of my right hon. Friend and is dependent on the possible success of the Scottish team in the early rounds.

Mr. Teddy Taylor

Does the Minister agree that the gathering at Perth was an example to all Scottish parties, particularly to the Labour Party, whose Scottish gatherings are simply extremist shambles? On the particular question raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Mr. Monro), can the Minister say, after this long delay, when he expects to make the announcement of a decision on Hampden Park?

Mr. McElhone

I am sorry, but the hon. Gentleman has got it wrong again. I have the first page of the Leader of the Opposition's speech, I shall not read it, of course, but it says that she was complimented on major victories at the ballot box in Scotland. I hope that the hon. Member reported to her the right decision at Garscadden and did not mislead her into thinking that the Conservatives won there. The hon. Gentleman knows that it was a shambles at Perth, but that in no way relates to our problem at football grounds.

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