§ Mr. Jeremy Corbyn (Islington, North)I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 20, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
the decision of the Home Secretary to deport six Sri Lankan Tamils from Britain.This is a serious and important matter. Yesterday the Home Secretary sent a letter to the solicitors acting on behalf of six Sri Lankan Tamils who sought political asylum in Britain to the effect that he now intends to deport them back to Sri Lanka because he considers the situation there to be safe. The situation in Sri Lanka is not safe. Many Tamils are still being killed because of the communal disturbances there. Many Tamils have lost family. Many of my constituents have lost family in Sri Lanka.An additional consequence of the Home Secretary's decision is that a further 2,300 Tamil people with temporary exceptional leave to remain in Britain are threatened with removal under his decision. It is wrong that such a decision should be made known only by letter and not by a statement to Parliament. It is doubly wrong because the organisations with the best knowledge and ability in regard to Sri Lanka are opposed to that decision. Amnesty International and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees are concerned about it.
The Home Secretary appears to be trying to run a regime that is the worst in Europe in regard to asylum applications. He is turning his back on the safety of those people and insisting that they be removed from Britain. The matter is urgent and important on humanitarian and legal grounds. It is incumbent on the House to discuss the plight of refugees and demand that the Home Secretary, instead of hiding behind his office and writing letters, comes clean and explains to the House why he has taken such an inhuman attitude towards these sad and desperate people.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member for Islington, North (Mr. Corbyn) seeks leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 20, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
the decision of the Home Secretary to reject the asylum applications of six Sri Lankan Tamils.I have listened with care to what the hon. Member has said, but I regret that I do not consider the matter that he has raised to be appropriate for discussion under Standing Order No. 20. I cannot therefore submit his application to the House. However, I hope that he may find other legitimate ways of raising the matter in the House.