§ Mr. Corbynasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give priority to the application by Zola Budd for British citizenship.
§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria were used in the case of Zola Budd's application for British citizenship; and why this application was granted in such a short time.
§ Mr. WaddingtonMy right hon. and learned Friend was asked to give priority to the handling of Miss Budd's application and did so. She was registered as a British citizen on 5 April. Applications are generally considered in the order they are made, but are sometimes taken out of turn if there is a request for priority and the merits of318W the case and the circumstances surrounding it justify such treatment. Miss Budd had come here with her parents to live in this country to try to qualify to run for it, if possible in this year's Olympic Games. The timetable this imposed for considering her application was necessarily short. Her talent is apparently exceptional. If she had not been given priority, she would have been denied the opportunity to seek to qualify. In these circumstances it was judged that a failure to give her priority would have been unreasonable.