§ Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the circumstances in which an airline steward, arriving from the United States of America and suspected of suffering from AIDS, was held overnight by immigration officials at Gatwick airport and put on a return flight the next morning; what was the source of information regarding his condition; and if the steward was asked about the purpose of his proposed visit to the United Kingdom;
(2) if he will make a statement on his Department's guidelines relating to the procedure for handling the entry or attempted entry into the United Kingdom of persons known to be, or suspected of, carrying the AIDS virus or suffering from AIDS; when the guidelines were introduced; and if he will publish them.
§ Mr. WaddingtonAll overseas nationals seeking to enter the United Kingdom must qualify under the immigration rules (HC 169 as amended). These provide, inter alia, that where a port medical inspector advises that for medical reasons it is undesirable to admit a passenger, the immigration officer should refuse leave to enter unless he considers admission warranted by strong compassionate reasons. It was on this basis that the case reported recently in the press was handled.