§ Mr. Bidwellasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) on what date he instructed immigration officers to cease to use a form seeking voluntary agreement by single women immigrants to undergo a gynaecological examination; and if he will make a statement;
(2) on what date immigration officers were previously instructed not to use virginity testing of single immigrant women;
(3) how many times in a recent period of 12 months virginity testing forms were issued for signature; and how many times such tests have been carried out;
(4) if there has been an age limit for virginity testing;
(5) what has been the country, or countries, of origin of women tested for virginity over the last 12 months; when the form used recently was first compiled; and whether there have been any cases of virginity testing of single women from the Old Commonwealth, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Mr. Merlyn RessThere have not hitherto been any specific instructions to the immigration service forbidding requests like the one recently made by an immigration officer at Heathrow. It is not possible to say on how many occasions similar requests may have been made but the form to which my hon. Friend refers was produced for the one occasion and has of course been withdrawn. As soon as the recent case came to my notice I gave instructions that there was to be no recurrence.