§ Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow)It is not in a spirit of posturing, but because some of us sincerely believe that precedence should be given to the subject, that I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 20 so that the House of Commons can discuss a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
Reparations in relation to Iraq.The issue is definite in that it is being discussed this afternoon and this evening at the United Nations.I must persuade you, Mr. Speaker, that it is urgent and should take precedence. The House of Commons often shuts the stable door when the horse has bolted. If we are to have a feed-in, and to have any influence whatever on events which are absolutely central to our country, we really must discuss such matters before the event and not after it.
When the Prime Minister comes to make her statement tomorrow, it will be too late to discuss, first, reparations and secondly, dare I say it, the whole question of war crimes. Those issues were not properly discussed when the House of Commons was recalled for the emergency debate in September. The disgraceful truth is that many leading politicians have uttered statements on highly sensitive issues such as this, and the House has had no opportunity whatever to pass comment on them.
I believe that the matter is important, and that loose talk about reparations, let alone war crimes, makes the Iraqis more intransigent, the chances of a peaceful settlement less likely and, therefore, the hideous prospect of war more likely. That is why it is of overwhelming importance that General Norman Schwarzkopf was quoted this morning in the Daily Telegraph as saying:
War 'could he as bloody as Vietnam … it could last a long, long time and kill an awful lot of people."'Derek Wellman from the Ex-Services Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament said in a letter to me:Most of our own members saw active service in World War Two—some even in WWI—and we have been appalled by the cavalier attitude of most of the media to the idea of 'using force'. The impression given is almost that we would embark on something akin to a pub brawl rather than the obscenity of war.I put it to you, Mr. Speaker, that the matter is more important than dogs.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The hon. Gentleman has had his time. He made his point succinctly.
The hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he believes should have urgent consideration, namely,
United Nations policy in demanding reparations from Iraq.I in no way underestimate the importance and significance of what the hon. Member put to the House hut, as he knows, under Standing Order No. 20 I have to announce my decision without giving my reasons. I also have to take into account whether the subject that he raised should take precedence over the business set down for today or tomorrow. I regret that the matter that he has raised does not meet the requirements of the Standing Order, and I therefore cannot submit his application to the House.