§ Mr. Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby)I beg to ask leave to present the first and the smallest of many petitions that will come from the county of Humberside with the support of tens of thousands of signatures. I am presenting the petition today because an announcement is due next week about a list of possible nuclear dumps. My constituents would prefer changes to be made to the list after full consideration of all relevant factors, including public opinion, rather than as a result of behind-the-scenes pressure from members of the Cabinet. The petition, therefore, is a warning shot. It reads:
The humble petition of the people of Great Grimsby and parts round about Sheweth that the undersigned are totally and absolutely opposed to any proposal to locate any radioactive waste storage or disposal facility within the County of Humberside and consider that any such facility would relegate the area, designating it as more suitable for dangerous dumping than for development.Wherefore your petitioners humbly pray that your Honourable House do urge the Secretary of State for the Environment in no circumstances to authorise any such dumping or any survey work to assess suitability for the establishment of any nuclear waste dump within the County.I cannot endorse that petition strongly enough. My constituents and others round about my constituency feel bitter and angry at the possibility of having a 300 yard blight inflicted on their area. I ask the Secretary of State for the Environment to think again, because we shall resist bitterly and angrily until the end.
To lie upon the Table.