§ 10.1 pm
§ Mr. Robert Key (Salisbury)I wish to present a petition raised by almost 500 of my constituents from East Gomeldon, the Winterbournes and other parishes, which asks the House to urge the Ministry of Defence to clear a former range adjacent to their homes where more than 2,000 metal objects have been identified that were buried many years of ago, some of which might contain high explosives, phosgene or mustard gas. Since we began the petition, the Ministry of Defence has said that it will clear the ground, but it has not started yet and this is our insurance policy. The Journal of this House for 10 December 1640 records that a petition was found on Salisbury plain, brought to the mayor of Salisbury, sent by an hon. Member to the Committee on Petitions, which found it of no better consequence than to be burnt. I urge this honourable House not to burn this one, but to give it its support.
§ To lie upon the Table.