§ Dame Jill Knightasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has received a report from the chief constable of West Midlands about the disorder at the Pakistan v. England cricket match at Edgbaston on 25 May; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HurdI have received a full report from the chief constable. The disorder at Edgbaston was confined to a small minority of spectators in the Rae Bank stand area of the ground. The stand had become overcrowded and a number of those present had drunk too much. One member of the public was seriously injured.
It is important that steps should be taken to avoid a recurrence of this lamentable outbreak and I welcome the early discussions which the Test and County Cricket Board and the test grounds authorities have had with the police to identify and implement a range of measures to curb unruly behaviour at matches in the future.