HC Deb 06 August 1976 vol 916 cc1039-40W
Miss Richardson

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Mr. Sheaikh Mohammed Islam of Lahore, who arrived at London Airport on 22nd July 1976 with an entry permit valid for six months, a visa and a return ticket, intending to stay for two weeks as a tourist, was kept in detention for 11 days; how many other visitors have been deprived of tourist visits to the United Kingdom in the last three months; and what were their countries of origin.

Dr. Summerskill

Mr. Islam, a citizen of Pakistan, obtained a visa in Damascus for a visit as a tourist. On arrival on 22nd July he claimed that he had come to do business with various firms in London. He was detained under the provisions of Schedule 2 to the Immigration Act 1971 while enquiries were being made. The firms concerned had no knowledge of him and enquiries were made of our Embassy in Islamabad about his business circumstances in Pakistan. However, while a decision to give or refuse leave to enter was still pending, Mr. Islam decided to return to Damascus and he left the United Kingdom on 1st August.

From 1st April to 30th June 1976, the latest period for which information is available, the following numbers of people were refused leave to enter on the grounds that they were not considered to be genuine visitors or that they had insufficient means for their proposed visit:

COMMONWEALTH CITIZENS
Country or Territory issuing passport Number
Associated States
Australia 2
Bangladesh 11
Barbados 1
Canada 5
Cyprus 43
Ghana 45
Gibraltar
Guyana 5
Hong Kong 20
India 136
Jamaica 1
Kenya 12
Malaysia 12
Malta 1

County or Territory issuing passport Number
Mauritius 16
New Zealand
Nigeria 73
Rhodesia 8
Sierra Leone 2
Singapore 8
Sri Lanka (Ceylon) 16
Tanzania 21
Trinidad and Tobago 3
Uganda 3
Zambia 1
U.K.P.H. 25
Other Countries and Territories 11
Total 481

FOREIGN NATIONALS
Nationality Number
Belgium 1
Denmark
France 35
Germany (Federal Republic) 7
Italy 12
Luxembourg 1
Netherlands 8
Egypt 6
Argentina 11
Austria 7
Brazil 15
Chile 6
China
Columbia 24
Cuba
Czechoslovakia
Finland 5
G.D.R.
Greece 26
Hungary
Indonesia 2
Iran 31
Iraq
Israel 31
Japan 15
Mexico 1
Norway 3
Pakistan 167
Peru
Poland 1
Portugal 103
Romania
South Africa 9
Spain 65
Sweden 10
Switzerland 7
Turkey 97
U.S.A. 29
U.S.S.R.
Venezuela 4
Yugoslavia 21
Other Foreign Countries 138
Total 898