Points of Order (Hansard, 24 February 1987)

§ Mr. Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North)
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. You will recall that last week there was a statement by the Minister of State, Home Office concerning the removal of Tamil asylum-seekers from this country and the following day you granted a private notice question to my hon. Friend the Member for Coventry, South-East (Mr. Nellist). News has just come through that the right of the Tamils to seek a judicial review against the Home Office decision has been granted and that, therefore, they cannot be removed from this country until that review has been heard.
My question for you, Mr. Speaker, is this. Can you advise the House so that we can ensure that the decision of the House last year, which granted hon. Members the right to place a stop on that removal, can now be implemented by the Home Office and the Minister concerned brought to the House to explain his disgraceful conduct in trying to remove asylum-seekers from this country against the spirit of the terms of the Geneva convention?

§ Mr. Max Madden (Bradford, West)
Further to that point of order Mr. Speaker.

§ Mr. Speaker
It is not a point of order for me. Order does not arise. I can advise both hon. Members, because I suspect that they are making the same point, that the proper course of action is to seek to obtain a statement on this at an appropriate time. It is not a matter of order today.

§ Mr. Madden
rose—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. It cannot be a point of order for me.

§ Mr. Madden
I am not asking you, Mr. Speaker, to take a decision now on this, but to reflect on—

§ Mr. Speaker
I spend my life reflecting. I do not need to reflect on a matter which is clearly a question for the House, and not a matter of order.

§ Mr. Madden
rose—

§ Mr. Speaker
I am reflecting on my feet. The hon. Gentleman should have a go at this tomorrow.

§ Mr. Rob Hayward (Kingswood)
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. In column 24 of Hansard yesterday you gave guidance in relation to comments that have been made about people who are not Members. Has any guidance been given to the Table Office in relation to that in the light of the fact that I have traced 7ft of criticisms of the Prime Minister's son and husband during this Parliament? Will your ruling avoid that sort of condemnation?

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I repeat what I said yesterday. If the early-day motions on the Order Paper do not meet the criteria, they are brought to me for my attention. I cannot recollect that any of those particular early-day motions, which are probably from two years ago, were ever brought to me for my attention.

§ Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover)
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I know that you have carefully scrutinised the Select Committees and other Committees of the House. I wonder whether during the course of the day you would take the appropriate steps, where possible, to find out whether there has been any statement by any Government spokesman on the question of setting up a lifeboat for Morgan Grenfell, one of the firms involved in the Guinness—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I am not responsible for Morgan Grenfell.

§ Mr. Skinner
rose—

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I cannot help the hon. Gentleman. I am sorry.

§ Mr. Tony Banks (Newham, North-West)
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Can you advise me how I can raise today on the Floor of the House last night's news that Fulham and Queen's Park Rangers are to be merged? If it was the Royal Opera House that was about to be sold off and turned into luxury flats, hon. Members would be in uproar, yet we cannot get a discussion on this important issue.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I do not quite know where Government responsibility would lie on a matter such as that. The hon. Gentleman might have an opportunity when the Minister responsible for sport is due to answer questions.