Simon Mootoo (Hansard, 2 July 1992)

§ Mr. Harry Cohen (Leyton)
I present this petition, which reads: To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of Waltham Forest Anti-deportation Campaign. sheweth That Simon Mootoo a British serviceman came to settle in 1973. In 1975 four of his children joined him. His wife and two children remained in Mauritius. In 1980 his wife came to England. The two sons Ange Noe and Paul, were refused visas as they were then over eighteen. During the next four years Ange's parents made valiant efforts to convince the Home Office to allow them to join the rest of the family all to no avail. In 1987 the two sons were granted temporary admissions to visit their sick mother who was in intensive care. Ange did not return to Mauritius, he could not bear to leave his sick mother and ageing father. He remained here and cared for both his parents. Sadly in November 1988 Ange's mother died. Ange then became the sole provider for his father. In 1991 Ange sought to regularise his immigration status and applied for indefinite leave to remain. This was refused. Wherefore your petitioners pray that your honourable House urge the Home Secretary to grant Ange Noe Mootoo leave to remain indefinitely in the United Kingdom to care for his seventy six-year-old father. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray &c. The first signature is that of Simon Mootoo of 37 Bakers Avenue, Walthamstow E17, who served this country at sea during the last war.
I strongly support this petition, as does my hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Mr. Gerrard), and we urge the House to accept it.

§ Mr. Tam Dalyell (Linlithgow)
On a point of order, Madam Speaker. I wonder whether there have been any requests from the Scottish Office to make a statement on a matter that is causing enormous anxiety to more than 100,000 people in the centre of Scotland: the contamination, with what is thought to be human excrement, of a major reservoir—the Blackridge reservoir. I understand that the initial reaction of the Scottish Office is that that serious matter is the responsibility of the local authority. I suggest to the House and to Ministers that, because of the health aspects, some responsibility lies with the Scottish Home and Health Department. I do not make too much of the fact that there is no Scottish Office Minister present, because Scottish Office Ministers may legitimately have returned to Edinburgh, but I must tell the Leader of the House that it is a matter that the Government—

§ Madam Speaker
Order. The hon. Gentleman is a parliamentarian of long standing. It is not for him to put matters to the Leader of the House or to any other Minister. As he realises, points of order are for me. I understand his anxiety, but no Minister has sought permission to make a statement.