§ Mr. Jeremy Corbyn (Islington, North)I have the pleasure of presenting a petition to the House which has been circulated widely throughout the country concerning the passage of the Asylum and Immigration Appeals Bill which completed its Third Reading in the House yesterday and is now on its way through the House of Lords. I will read the petition:
To the Honourabl0e the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the people of the United Kingdom sheweth:That we wish to register strong protest at the Government's proposals to restrict the rights of asylum-seekers;That the fast-track systems for the determination of claims will deny natural justice to asylum-seekers, giving only 48 hours in which to give notice of appeals against refusal;That some of the proposed changes in the Immigration Rules will make it more difficult for asylum-seekers to establish their claim and are against the letter and spirit of the 1951 UN Convention on Refugees;That the increased powers to fine airlines will further erode the spirit of the 1951 United Nations convention on refugees, as will proposals to send British officials to scrutinise passports at foreign airports;That fingerprinting asylum-seekers is discriminatory and will criminalise innocent people;That the housing restrictions proposed are discriminatory;And that the secret intergovernmental discussions currently taking place in the ad-hoc group on immigration are apparently proposing even more restrictive asylum policies.Wherefore your Petitioners pray that your honourable House will not proceed with those unjust proposals, and your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray.I am told that the petition is supported by 6,962 signatories, in addition to the three on the face of the petition. I fully endorse and support it.
§ To lie upon the Table.