§ Mr. John Randall (Uxbridge)I beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 24, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
the plight of the 12 British tourists who are still being held in custody in Greece.You will be aware, Mr. Speaker, that they have been accused of espionage although it seems that some of those accused are not certain whether any charges have been laid against them. Yesterday they were remanded in custody for at least a further week. Bail was refused. My constituent, Mr. Peter Norris, is one of those held, but many hon. Members have been expressing strong concerns about their constituents. I am particularly grateful for the efforts of my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis), my hon. Friends the Members for West Suffolk (Mr. Spring) and for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth) and the hon. Members for Twickenham (Dr Cable), for North-West Leicestershire (David Taylor) and for Tamworth (Mr. Jenkins).Mr. Norris has told me, through his daughter Estelle, that the charges are ludicrous. All 12 tourists are bona fide aviation enthusiasts who have followed their hobby in many places around the world without problems for many years. As a fellow resident of Uxbridge, I know that Mr. Norris is a locally known expert on that subject and has written articles in the Uxbridge Gazette for over 20 years.
At the three air bases that the tourists visited they were officially signed in. They were told not to bring cameras, so they left them in their vehicle. There has been mention of a secret air base. Apparently, this is where a soap opera is filmed, with episodes shown weekly on Greek television. The tourists have even seen episodes showing the air base while they have been in prison. In fact they never even entered the base, but were at an adjacent go-kart track, which had a view over the film-set air base. It is hardly the stuff of John le Carré. These are ordinary people pursuing their hobby.
This incident is fast becoming a real problem in relations between our two countries, and many people now thinking about holidaying in Greece may well want to reconsider any decision in light of what is going on. This over-reaction is frankly not the behaviour that we expect from a democracy and a fellow European Union state. I know that members of Her Majesty's Government have been talking to their counterparts in Greece, and that the consular department of the British embassy in Athens has been active in trying to look after the welfare of those in prison. However, I ask for this debate now so that we in the House have the opportunity to express our views, and in my case my extreme displeasure, at this unnecessarily harsh and unwarranted treatment of British subjects by one of our European Union partners.
§ Mr. SpeakerI have listened carefully to what the hon. Gentleman has said and must give my decision without stating any reasons. I am afraid that I do not consider that the matter that he has raised is appropriate for discussion under Standing Order No. 24. I cannot therefore submit his application to the House.