Commons Sitting of 8 May 1997

Preamble
The House being met at half-past Two o'clock, and MADAM SPEAKER-ELECT having taken the Chair;
Message to attend the Lords Commissioners;
The House went; and, having returned—

Election of Speaker
Madam Speaker: I have to report to the House that, in the House of Peers, Her Majesty, by Her Royal Commissioners, has been pleased to approve the choice made of myself for the Office of Speaker, and that I have, in your name and on your behalf, made claim by humble petition to Her Majesty to all your ancient and undoubted rights and privileges, particularly to freedom of speech in debate, freedom from arrest and freedom of access to Her Majesty whenever occasion may require, and that the most favourable construction may be placed upon all your proceedings. All these Her Majesty, by Her Commissioners, has been pleased to confirm in as ample a manner as they have ever been granted or confirmed by herself or by any of Her Royal Predecessors.
My first duty to the House is to report my respectful acknowledgments and my grateful thanks for the great honour you have conferred upon me in placing me in the Chair.

Members Sworn
Madam Speaker: I must now call upon the Members of the House, according to the usual custom, to take the Oath of Allegiance at the Table of the House, but first I must do so myself.
Thereupon MADAM SPEAKER first, alone, standing upon the upper step of the Chair, took and subscribed the Oath.
Madam Speaker: Before Members proceed to the taking of the Oath, I regret to have to report to the House the death of Sir Michael Shersby, Member for Uxbridge. I am sure that hon. Members on both sides of the House will join me in mourning the loss of a colleague and extending sympathy to the hon. Member's family and his friends.
It may be for the convenience of the House if I indicate my intentions with regard to the taking of the Oath by right hon and hon. Members. I propose to call, first, the Father of the House; then the Cabinet; then the shadow Cabinet; then all the Privy Councillors not included in those two groups, wherever they may be sitting, and then other Ministers. Thereafter I shall call other hon. Members according to seniority determined by the basis of seniority, that is by the Parliament of first entry or, for those with broken service, that of most recent entry.
The first batch will be those elected in or before 1974. Thereafter I shall proceed by successive Parliaments. I hope by late this afternoon to have made sufficient progress to enable all Members to swear in who wish to do so up to and including those elected to the 1992 Parliament. The House will sit again tomorrow at 9.30, when I shall call those Members first elected to the current Parliament as well as Members elected to earlier Parliaments who were not able to take the Oath today.
Finally, the House will meet again next Tuesday at 2.30 to enable Members to take the Oath who have not done so this week.
I hope that this announcement will be helpful to Members in planning their programmes. Progress will depend, of course, on the number of Members wishing to take the Oath at any particular time. I advise Members to watch the annunciators to establish progress and to speak to their Whips. I hope also that Members will come forward in an orderly manner. Let us now begin.
The following Members took and subscribed the Oath, or made and subscribed the Affirmation required by law:
Right honourable Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE, Old Bexley and Sidcup
Right honourable Anthony Charles Lynton Blair, Sedgefield
Right honourable John Major, Huntingdon
Right honourable John Leslie Prescott, Kingston upon Hull, East
Right honourable Winifred Ann, Mrs. Taylor, Dewsbury Right honourable Robert Finlayson Cook, Livingston
Right honourable James Gordon Brown, Dunfermline, East
Right honourable John Whitaker Straw, Blackburn
Right honourable Margaret Mary, Mrs. Beckett, Derby, South
Right honourable Gavin Steel Strang, Edinburgh, East and Musselburgh
Right honourable David George Clark, South Shields
Right honourable Marjorie Mowlam, Redcar
Right honourable George Islay MacNeill Robertson, Hamilton, South
Right honourable Alistair Maclean Darling, Edinburgh, Central
Right honourable Ronald Davies, Caerphilly
Right honourable John Anderson Cunningham, Copeland
Right honourable Frank Gordon Dobson, Holborn and St. Pancras
Right honourable Clare Short, Birmingham, Ladywood
Right honourable David Blunkett, Sheffield, Brightside
Right honourable Harriet Ruth Harman, Camberwell and Peckham
Right honourable Christopher Robert Smith, Islington, South and Finsbury
Right honourable Donald Campbell Dewar, Glasgow, Anniesland
Right honourable Kenneth Harry Clarke QC, Rushcliffe
Right honourable Nicholas Hugh Brown, Newcastle upon Tyne, East and Wallsend
Right honourable Brian Stanley Mawhinney, North-West Cambridgeshire
Right honourable Michael Howard QC, Folkestone and Hythe
Right honourable Alistair Robertson Goodlad, Eddisbury
Right honourable Douglas Martin Hogg QC, Sleaford and North Hykeham
Right honourable Gillian Patricia, Mrs. Shephard, South-West Norfolk
Right honourable Peter Bruce Lilley, Hitchen and Harpenden
Right honourable William Jefferson Hague, Richmond, Yorks
Right honourable Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Yeovil
Right honourable Alan James Beith, Berwick-upon-Tweed
Right honourable Gerald Bernard Kaufman, Manchester, Gorton
Right honourable Robert Edward Sheldon, Ashton under Lyne
Right honourable Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn, Chesterfield
Right honourable Alan John Williams, Swansea, West
Right honourable Sir Peter Frank Hannibal Emery, East Devon
Right honourable Sir Peter Robert Cable Lloyd, Fareham
Right honourable David John Maclean, Penrith and The Border
Right honourable David Maurice Curry, Skipton and Ripon
Right honourable David Michael Davis, Haltemprice and Howden
Right honourable Eric Forth, Bromley and Chislhurst
Right honourable John David Taylor, Strangford
Right honourable John Michael Jack, Fylde
Right honourable Michael Ancram, Devizes
Francis Anthony Aylmer Maude, esquire, Horsham
Right honourable Ann Noreen Widdecombe, Maidstone and The Weald
Right honourable Peter Leonard Brooke CH, Cities of London and Westminster
Right honourable Sir John Paul Stanley, Tonbridge and Malling
Reverend Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Norh Antrim
Dafydd Wigley, esquire, Caernarfon
Margaret Anne, Mrs. Ewing, Moray
Winston James Griffiths, esquire, Bridgend
Samuel Laird Gallbraith, esquire, Strathkelvin and Bearsden
Peter Kilfoyle, esquire, Liverpool, Walton
Walton John Hume, esquire, Foyle
John McFall, esquire, Dumbarton
Jonathan Owen Jones, esquire, Cardiff, Central
Peter Gerald Hain, esquire, Neath
George Foulkes, esquire, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
James Patrick Dowd, esquire, Lewisham, West
Jane Elizabeth, Mrs. Kennedy, Liverpool, Wavertree
Gregory James Pope, esquire, Hyndburn
Bridget Theresa, Mrs. Prentice, Lewisham, East
Kim Scott Howells, esquire, Pontypridd
Right honourable Thomas Jeremy King CH, Bridgwater
Graham William Allen, esquire, Nottingham, North
Keith John Charles Bradley, esquire, Manchester, Withington
Robert William Ainsworth, esquire, Coventry, North-East
Sir Peter Hannay Bailey Tapsell, Louth and Horncastle
Robert Adam Ross Maclennan, esquire, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Alan Thomas Howarth, esquire, CBE, Newport, East Paul Yaw Boateng, esquire, Brent, South
Malcolm George Richardson Chisholm, esquire, Edinburgh, North and Leith
Geoffrey William Hoon, esquire, Ashfield
Kevin Michael Hughes, esquire, Doncaster, North
John Francis Spellar, esquire, Warley
Anthony Worthington, esquire, Clydebank and Milngavie
Estelle Morris, Birmingham, Yardley
Thomas McLaughlin McAvoy, esquire, Glasgow, Rutherglen
Clive James Charles Betts, esquire, Sheffield, Attercliffe
Elliot Anthony Morley, esquire, Scunthorpe
Sir Richard Bernard Frank Stewart Body, Boston and Skegness
Stephen Barry Jones, esquire, Alyn and Deeside
Dennis Edward Skinner, esquire, Bolsover
Thomas Michael Cox, esquire, Tooting
Sir William David Madel, South-West Bedfordshire
Sir Patrick Thomas Cormack, South Staffordshire
Nicholas Raymond Winterton, esquire, Macclesfield
Roger Stott, esquire, CBE, Wigan
Sir William Michael Hardy Spicer, West Worcestershire
Bruce Thomas George, esquire, Walsall, South
Andrew Francis Bennett, esquire, Denton and Reddish
Dennis Andrew Canavan, esquire, Falkirk, West
William Ross, esquire, East Londonderry
Right honourable Sir Geoffrey Johnson-Smith, Wealden
Sir Raymond William Whitney OBE, Wycombe
John David Home Robertson, esquire, East Lothian
Brian Charles Sedgemore, esquire, Hackney, South and Shoreditch
Sir Alan Gordon Barraclough Haselhurst, Saffron Walden
Richard Lewis Page, esquire, South-West Hertfordshire
Giles Heneage Radice, esquire, North Durham
Dale Norman Campbell-Savours, esquire, Workington
David Marshall, esquire, Glasgow, Shettleston
Ernest Ross, esquire. Dundee, West
John Alston Maxton, esquire, Glasgow, Cathcart
Lawrence Francis Cunliffe, esquire, Leigh
Sir Sydney Brookes Chapman, Chipping Barnet
Martin John O'Neill, esquire, Ochil
Sir Raymond Powell, Ogmore
Andrew Welsh, esquire, Angus
David Julian Winnick, esquire, Walsall, North
Michael John Martin, esquire, Glasgow, Springburn
Sir Edward Macmillan Taylor, Rochford and Southend, East
Michael Keith Beale Colvin, esquire. Romsey
James Marshall, esquire, Leicester, South
Clive Stafford Soley, esquire, Ealing. Acton and Shepherds Bush
Richard Charles Scrimgeour Shepherd, esquire, Aldridge-Brownhills
John Arbuthnot Du Cane Wilkinson, esquire, Ruislip-Northwood
John David McWilliam, esquire, Blaydon
Frank Field, esquire, Birkenhead
Reverend William Martin Smyth, Belfast, South
Right honourable Stephen James Dorrell, Charnwood
Marion Audrey, Mrs. Roe, Broxbourne
Archibald Johnstone Kirkwood, esquire, Roxburgh and Berwickshire
Simon Robert Key, esquire, Salisbury
Roger James Gale, esquire, North Thanet
Charles Frederick Wardle, esquire, Bexhill and Battle
Jane Ann, Mrs. Winterton, Congleton
Clifford Forsythe, esquire, South Antrim
Alfred Cecil Walker, esquire, Belfast, North
William Michie. esquire, Sheffield, Heeley
Roy Beggs, esquire, East Antrim
Andrew James MacKay, esquire, Bracknell
John Valentine Butterfill, esquire, Bournemouth, West
Francis Cook, esquire, Stockton, North
Norman Anthony Godman, esquire, Greenock and Inverclyde
John Mark Taylor, esquire, Solihull
Michael Nicholson Lord, esquire, Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
Peter Leslie Pike, esquire, Burnley
James Robert Wallace, esquire, Orkney and Shetland
Charles Peter Kennedy, esquire, Ross, Skye and Inverness, West
Robert Nelson Wareing, esquire, Liverpool, West Derby
Terence Anthony Gordon Davis, esquire, Birmingham, Hodge Hill
Robin Corbett, esquire, Birmingham, Erdington
Malcolm Gray Bruce, esquire, Gordon
Ann Clwyd, Cynon Valley
William O'Brien, esquire, Normanton
Patrick Allen McLoughlin, esquire, West Derbyshire
Andrew Robert Frederick Hunter, esquire, Basingstoke
Robert Victor Jackson, esquire, Wantage
David Martin Hinchliffe, esquire, Wakefield
Audrey, Mrs. Wise, Preston
Alice, Mrs. Mahon, Halifax
Maria, Mrs. Fyfe, Glasgow, Maryhill
Simon Henry Ward Hughes, esquire, North Southwark and Bermondsey
Eric Evelyn Illsley, esquire, Barnsley, Central
Harold Barnes, esquire, North-East Derbyshire
John Scott Cummings, esquire, Easington
Ronald Campbell, esquire, Blyth Valley
Donald Anderson, esquire, Swansea, East
Gerald Neil Steinberg, esquire, City of Durham
Timothy Eric Boswell, esquire, Daventry
Simon Hugh McGuigan Burns, esquire, Chelmsford
Patrick Charles Martyn Nicholls, esquire, Teignbridge
James Douglas Cran, esquire, Beverley and Holderness
Christopher John Fred Gill. RD, esquire, Ludlow
John McAllion, esquire, Dundee, East
James Hood, esquire, Clydesdale
Matthew Owen John Taylor, esquire, Truro and St. Austell
Ieuan Wyn Jones, esquire, Ynys Môn
Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant, esquire, Tottenham
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond, esquire, Banff and Buchan
James Wray, esquire, Glasgow, Baillieston
David Arthur Stephen Tredinnick, esquire, Bosworth
Joan Mary, Mrs. Ruddock, Lewisham, Deptford
Frank Doran, esquire, Aberdeen, Central
Christopher John Mullin, esquire, Sunderland, South
Eric Anthony Martlew, esquire, Carlisle
James Norwich Arbuthnot, esquire, North-East Hampshire
Ian Cameron Bruce, esquire, South Dorset
Janet Ray, Mrs. Michie, Argyll and Bute
Stephen Richard Day, esquire, Cheadle
Catherine Letitia Hoey, Vauxhall
William David Trimble, esquire, Upper Bann
Right honourable Sir Archibald Gavin Hamilton, Epsom and Ewell
Paul Phillip Flynn, esquire, Newport, West
William John Olner, esquire, Nuneaton
James Dolan Cunningham, esquire, Coventry, South
Piara Singh Khabra, esquire, Ealing, Southall
David George Hanson, esquire, Delyn
Edward Henry Gamier, esquire, Harborough
Andrew Peter Miller, esquire, Ellesmere Port and Neston
Rachel Anne Squire, Dunfermline, West
Malcolm Douglas Moss, esquire, North-East Cambridgeshire
Gary Nicholas Streeter, esquire, South-West Devon
Jean Ann Corston, Bristol, East
George William Stevenson, esquire, Stoke-on-Trent, South
William James Clappison, esquire, Hertsmere
Nicholas Richard Ainger, esquire, Carmarthen, West and South Pembrokeshire
Oliver Heald, esquire, North-East Hertfordshire
Adam Paterson Ingram, esquire, East Kilbride
Martyn David Jones, esquire, Clwyd, South
Michael Clapham, esquire, Barnsley, West and Penistone
Jeff Ennis, esquire, Barnsley, East and Mexborough
Angela Frances, Mrs. Browning, Tiverton and Honiton
Peter Landreth Atkinson, esquire, Hexham
Katherine, Mrs. Adams, Paisley, North
Roger Duncan Godsiff, esquire, Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath
Lynne Mary Jones, Birmingham, Selly Oak
Neil Francis Gerrard, esquire, Walthamstow
Nigel Keith Anthony Standish Vaz, esquire, Leicester, East
Margaret Eve, Mrs. Hodge MBE, Barking
Thomas Pendry, esquire, Stalybridge and Hyde
John Marek, esquire, Wrexham
Bruce Joseph Grocott. esquire, Telford
John Matthew Patrick Hutton, esquire, Barrow and Furness
Donald Michael Ellison Foster, esquire, Bath
Helen Margaret, Mrs. Jackson, Sheffield, Hillsborough
David William George Chidgey, esquire, Eastleigh
Michael St. John Trend, esquire, Windsor
James Keith Chapman, esquire, Wirral, South
Huw William Edmund Edwards, esquire, Monmouth
William John Gunnell, esquire, Morley and Rothwell
James Donnelly Touhig, esquire, Islwyn
Hugh Bayley, esquire, City of York
George lain Duncan Smith, esquire, Chingford and Woodford Green
Nicholas John Hawkins, esquire, Surrey Heath
Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Jowell, Dulwich and West Norwood
Joyce Gwendolen Quin, Gateshead, East and Washington, West
Alan Milburn, esquire, Darlington
William Etherington, esquire, Sunderland, North
Gwyneth Patricia, Mrs. Dunwoody, Crewe and Nantwich
Brian David Henderson Wilson, esquire, Cunninghame, North
Cheryl Elise Kendall, Mrs. Gillan, Chesham and Amersham
John Flasby Lawrance Whittingdale, esquire, OBE, Maldon and East Chelmsford
Geoffrey Robert Clifton Brown, esquire, Cotswold
Roseanna Cunningham, Perth
Peter James Bottomley, esquire, Worthing, West
Gerry Sutcliffe, esquire, Bradford, South
Richard Haines Burden, esquire, Birmingham, Northfield
Joan Lorraine Walley, Stoke-on-Trent, North
Ian Phares Pearson, esquire, Dudley, South
James Edward Thornton Paice, esquire, South-East Cambridgeshire
Denis MacShane, esquire, Rotherham
Michael Connarty, esquire, Falkirk, East
Richard Spring, esquire, West Suffolk
John Heppell, esquire, Nottingham, East
Michael Louis David Fabricant, esquire, Lichfield
David Digby Rendel, esquire, Newbury
Jon Hedley Trickett, esquire, Hemsworth
Simon Patrick Tipping, esquire, Sherwood
Arthur Nicholas Winston Soames, esquire, Mid Sussex
Bernard Christison Jenkin, esquire, North Essex
Dr. Anthony Wayland Wright, Cannock Chase
Gordon Prentice, esquire, Pendle
Anne Caroline Ballingall McIntosh, Vale of York
Christopher James Fraser, esquire, Mid Dorset and North Poole
Keith Robert Simpson, esquire, Mid Norfolk
Julian Murray Lewis, esquire, New Forest, East
Owen William Paterson, esquire, North Shropshire
Howard Emerson Flight, esquire, Arundel and South Downs
Barbara Maureen, Mrs. Roche, Hornsey and Wood Green
Laurence Anthony Robertson, esquire, Tewkesbury
Right honourable Sir George Samuel Knatchbull Young, North-West Hampshire
Robert Andrew Raymond Syms, esquire, Poole
Anthony Colman, esquire, Putney
Benjamin Peter James Bradshaw, esquire, Exeter
Fraser Kemp, esquire, Houghton and Washington, East
Ian Arthur Cawsey, esquire, Brigg and Goole
Rudolf Jan Vis, esquire, Finchley and Golders Green
Andrew David Lansley, esquire, South Cambridgeshire
Michael Thomas Hancock, esquire, Portsmouth, South
Richard Arthur Lloyd Livsey, esquire, Brecon and Radnorshire
Lembit Opik, esquire, Montgomeryshire
Jennifer Louise Tonge, Richmond Park
Edward Jonathon Davey, esquire, Kingston and Surbiton
Paul Kenneth Burstow, esquire, Sutton and Cheam
Denis Murphy, esquire, Wansbeck
Julian William Hendy Brazier, esquire, TD, Canterbury
Paul Archer Tyler, esquire, CBE, North Cornwall
Malcolm Hunt Wicks, esquire, Croydon, North
Desmond Stanley Turner, esquire, Brighton, Kemptown
Peter Michael Ainsworth, esquire, East Surrey
Christine Margaret Butler, Castle Point
Helen Mary Jones, Warrington, North
Jovanka Humble, Blackpool, North and Fleetwood
Andrew Hartley Dismore, esquire, Hendon
Anthony James McNulty, esquire, Harrow, East
James Fitzpatrick, esquire, Poplar and Canning Town
Llewellyn Thomas Smith, esquire, Blaenau Gwent
Clare Judith Mallaber, Amber Valley
Linda Gilroy, Plymouth, Sutton
Christine Margaret Russell, City of Chester
Jennifer Grace Jones, Wolverhampton, South-West
Right honourable John Roddick Russell MacGregor OBE, South Norfolk
Roger Leslie Berry, esquire, Kingswood
Jeffrey Mark Donaldson, esquire, Lagan Valley
John Martin McDonnell, esquire, Hayes and Harlington
Gareth Richard Thomas, esquire, Harrow, West
Mark Wainwright Todd, esquire, South Derbyshire
Ann Lloyd Keen, Brentford and Isleworth
Colin Burgon, esquire, Elmet
David Anthony Lock, esquire, Wyre Forest
John Cradock Maples, esquire, Stratford-on-Avon
Eleanor Fulton Laing, Epping Forest
Andrew Stunell, esquire, Hazel Grove
Melanie Jane Johnson, Welyn Hatfield
Phyllis Margaret Starkey, Milton Keynes, South-West
Jacqueline Jill Smith, Redditch
Paul Stuart Keetch, esquire, Hereford
William John Thompson, esquire, West Tyrone
Thomas Hilton Dawson, esquire, Lancaster and Wyre
Ann Coffey, Stockport
Ian Graham Davidson, esquire, Glasgow, Pollok
Anne Campbell, Cambridge
Harold Best, esquire, Leeds, North-West
Anthony Richard Clark, esquire, Northampton, South
Stephen Creswell Timms, esquire, East Ham
Donald Cameron Easterbrook Gorrie, esquire, Edinburgh, West
Paul Gerard Goggins, esquire, Wythenshawe and Sale, East
Hazel Anne Blears, Salford
Stephen Pelham Pound, esquire, Ealing, North

ADJOURNMENT
Resolved, That this House do now adjourn until tomorrow at half-past Nine o'clock.—[Mr. Betts.]
Adjourned accordingly at three minutes to Five o'clock.