§ 2.56 p.m.
§ The Earl of CLANCARTYMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government why an 11-year-old schoolgirl, Suzanne Southey, of Tring, Hertfordshire, upon returning with her school from a four days holiday in France, as reported in the Sunday Express of 26th June, had her passport stamped by the immigration officer to the effect that she must leave the country within two months, because she was born in Bulawayo, Rhodesia.
§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICHMy Lords, Miss Southey is a citizen of Rhodesia and held a concessionary passport issued under the terms of Lord Thomson of Monifieth's Statement in another place on 17th June 1968. The immigration officer who saw her with her teacher, on the evening of 14th June, was not able to establish there and then whether her family was subject to any conditions of stay, and decided to admit her for two months so that the matter could be resolved. He advised the girl's teacher to ask her parents to send her passport to the Home Office. However, from information available to the Home Office there is nothing to indicate that her parents' stay here is subject to conditions, and as soon as the girl's passport is received the conditions of stay stamped in it will be cancelled.
§ The Earl of CLANCARTYMy Lords, may I thank the noble Lord for that 165 Answer. May I ask the noble Lord whether the girl had what is known as a concessionary passport? Before she went on the four day holiday to France—I believe she came back to Dover—should she or her parents have had the passport stamped at the Passport Office? Alternatively, is there some other document that the girl should have had? Could the noble Lord give an assurance that the girl will now be able to stay in this country?
§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICHMy Lords, I have dealt with the last point in answer to the original Question. This girl had a concessionary passport and there was no need for her parents to have taken any action. Immigration officers have an exceptionally difficult job to perform on behalf of the entire community. As soon as this matter came to our attention, we were anxious to rectify it.
§ Lord BROCKWAYMy Lords, while the passport registration officials have a very difficult task in dealing in a rather rigid way with the regulations, may I ask whether it is not possible, as I have suggested before, for them to communicate with the Home Office on these matters? Thereby, embarrassment and delays—which are often remedied when Members of this House and another place raise the matter with the Minister—would not be caused.
§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICHMy Lords, the Immigration Service acts on the basis of the immigration rules. If an immigration officer behaves unreasonable, there is a right of appeal, and it is important to preserve that. I think that it is only right to emphasise that, once this matter came to our attention and we looked into it, we decided to withdraw the particular condition which had been stamped on the passport.
§ Lord CLIFFORD of CHUDLEIGHMy Lords, is the noble Lord aware that this is not an unusual case? Is he further aware that I am Australian-born, and have an Australian passport, and that 10 years ago when I was coming into the second-class citizens' entrance at Heathrow I was to have stamped on my passport a limited length of stay in this 166 country? It was only after asking the official for his name, rank and number, with the inference that I might bring the matter up in this House, that I was allowed to enter the country.
§ Lord HARRIS of GREENWICHMy Lords, it would be difficult to inquire too closely into what happened 10 years ago. I have said that there are rights of appeal against decisions by immigration officers, and those rights are exercised.