§ Mr. Sedgemoreasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why a letter was not sent by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Hackney, South and Shoreditch until 2 July concerning the application of Mrs. Chacadben Patel for entry clearance to attend a wedding in Hackney on 27 June.
§ Mr. EggarThe hon. Member will recall that he first wrote to me about Mrs. Patel's application for entry clearance on 5 May 1987, received in my office on 12 May. It was necessary to consult the post concerned and a substantive reply to that letter was sent in my absence, by my office on 10 June, in view of the wedding date. The hon. Member wrote again on 18 June. I replied on 2 July reiterating the position set out in the earlier reply of 10 June.