§ Mr. A. J. Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed)I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 10, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
the failings of the security services revealed by the Bettaney case.The case is specific and its importance is beyond dispute. It is the latest and one of the worst in a long series of cases that reveal failings in the security services. It shows that vetting procedures failed to identify a potential defector at a senior level in the security services and that search procedures that would have revealed his activities were not carried out. Those procedures are still being relied on and the people who failed to operate them effectively are presumably still in post. That makes it the more urgent that the House should have the opportunity to consider the method.It has been announced that the Prime Minister has referred the matter to the Security Commission. That gives added reason for an urgent debate. If the House had been sitting when the conviction of Bettaney occurred we should have expected the Prime Minister to make a statement to the House announcing the reference to the Security Commission. That is what she did when, for example, the Prime case was referred to the Security Commission. The right hon. Lady would then have been questioned on that statement and hon. Members would have had an opportunity to draw attention to those aspects of the matter which they felt the Security Commission should consider. It would also have been an opportunity to question whether a routine reference to the Security Commission is an adequate response to a case of this gravity and to question whether the commission is adequately constituted to reflect the range of concern.
The Prime Minister could have made that statement today, but she did not do so. Therefore, the commission has embarked upon its consideration without reflecting the concern that exists in Parliament. It is for those reasons that the House should have an opportunity to voice its opinions and concerns, and it should be able to do so urgently.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith) asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he thinks should have urgent consideration, namely,
the failings of the security services revealed by the Bettaney case.I have listened carefully to what the hon. Gentleman said, but I regret that I do not consider that the matter he has raised is appropriate for discussion under Standing Order No. 10 and, therefore, I cannot submit his application to the House.