§ Mr. Peter Shore (Bethnal Green and Stepney)I beg 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 Bangladesh cyclone disaster." [Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. It is very important that I hear this application.
§ Mr. ShoreThe whole House was appalled by the news last week that 50,000 men, women and children had perished in the cyclone that swept over the coastal areas and the low-lying islands of the bay of Bengal. Alas, that early estimate of the dead has already been proved to be wrong. More than 125,000 casualties are now reported and there are serious estimates that the total could rise to over 200,000 before the count is over. But even that is not the end of it. Villages throughout the coastal areas are still cut off, most of them without food or drinking water, and the first reports of cholera are coming in—[Interruption.]
§ Mr. Bob Cryer (Bradford, South)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker.
§ Mr. SpeakerI do not need a point of order. I am listening to the application that is being made to me.[Interruption.] Order. It is very unseemly to have these comments. I ask the House please to settle down and let me hear this application.
§ Mr. ShoreThe first reports of cholera are now coming in, and a further still more awful disaster is in the making. Clearly this is a specific and important matter which needs the most urgent consideration. In the very short term there is a great need for food and medicines and, just as important, the means of delivering them. What appear to be most required are helicopters and inflatable power boats.
The Government could tell the House very little last Thursday. I do not blame them for that; telephone contact with Bangladesh is largely dependent upon satellite communications, and the principal facility in the Chittagong area was damaged by the cyclone and is still out of action. Nevertheless, we have a much clearer picture now than we had last Thursday and it should be possible, in a debate, for the Government to give an informed account of the actions they have taken so far, what is now in train, and what further assistance they propose to give.
This is also the time to consider what this country and other donors can do in the period ahead to assist the Government of Bangladesh to carry through an enhanced programme for building cyclone shelters and strengthening coastal defences against, certainly, future cyclone attacks.
Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world. Apart from loss of human lives, present estimates of the cost of this disaster in terms of cattle, crops and infrastructure are well over $1,000 million. Bangladesh is 627 a member of the Commonwealth. Our ties with that country and its people over the past three decades have been strengthened by the substantial number of people of Bangladeshi origin who have settled here and are now among our fellow citizens.
These are strong reasons for an emergency debate, and I hope, Mr. Speaker, that you will grant one.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe right hon. Gentleman asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 20, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he believes should have urgent consideration, namely, "the Bangladesh cyclone disaster."
As the House knows, I have to announce my decision without giving reasons. I listened with care and deep concern to what the right hon. Gentleman said. As he knows, I have to decide whether this application comes within the Standing Order, and, if so, whether a debate should be given priority over the business already set down for today or for tomorrow.
I listened with care to what the right hon. Gentleman said. I do not in any way underestimate its importance, but I have to say that in this case the matter raised does not meet the criteria of the Standing Order. I cannot therefore submit his application to the House.
§ Sir Hugh Rossi (Hornsey and Wood Green)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I wish to refer back to the statement that you made——
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I have already dealt with that.
§ Mr. Max Madden (Bradford, West)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I very much regret that you were unable to accept the application of my right hon. Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Stepney (Mr. Shore). I regret also the rowdy atmosphere in which initially the application had to be made.
The Prime Minister, the Minister for Overseas Development and the Chief Secretary to the Secretary were all present. We understand the plight of the people of Bangladesh which has touched the hearts and, I am glad to say, the hands of the British people who are giving generously and who are concerned at the fact that our Government are being seen as one of the meanest of the richest nations in the world.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The hon. Gentleman must not make allegations which I cannot answer. He is raising a point of order.
§ Mr. MaddenIf the Minister for Overseas Development, the Prime Minister or the Foreign Secretary were to intimate to you, Mr. Speaker, a wish to make a statement at 7 o'clock this evening, would you facilitate such a statement, bearing in mind the great concern of many Bangladeshis who are British citizens and who are worried about the fate of their relatives and friends?
§ Mr. SpeakerLet me deal with one thing at a time. I in no way underestimate the matter. Like the hon. Member, I also have constituents who have relatives in Bangladesh. We had a long run on it on a private notice question on Thursday. Every hon. Member who is present was called to put a question. I am sure that there will be other 628 opportunities. I have to take into account all kinds of other criteria in making my decision. The House knows that.
§ Dr. John Cunningham (Copeland)Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. The Leader of the House is here and is listening to the exchanges. I understand your reasons, Mr. Speaker, for not granting an emergency debate, regrettable though that decision is. Given the scale of the tragedy, surely we can prevail upon the Leader of the House to say that he will find an early opportunity for a debate, or discuss through the usual channels the rearrangement of business so that the House may have an opportunity to debate the tragedy and Britain's contribution towards reparation.
§ The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. John MacGregor)Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. It may be helpful to the House if I say that clearly we would wish to do that and to keep the House fully informed. Communication is obviously a problem in the area, but I can give the assurance that we wish to keep the House fully informed.
§ Mr. SpeakerI do not think that anything further on that can be raised with me. The Leader of the House, on behalf of the Government, has stated that he will bear the matter in mind. What point of order can arise for me out of that?