§ Mrs. MahonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what representations he has received concerning Navaratnasingam Vathanan, a Tamil who was returned to Colombo in February 1988; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what representations he has received concerning Vythialingam Skandarajah, a Tamil who was returned to Colombo in February 1988; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Renton[holding answer 19 June 1989]: A judicial review of our decisions to refuse refugee status to these two cases and to four other Tamils was dismissed by the House of Lords in December 1987 and they were returned to Sri Lanka in February 1988. On 13 March 1989 an adjudicator upheld appeals against refusal of leave to enter in five of these cases. My right hon. Friend sought leave to appeal to the tribunal on 22 March but on 19 April the tribunal decided that it had no jurisdiction to consider this appeal because of a clerical error in the service of the papers. On 12 May my right hon. Friend sought leave to move for judicial review of the tribunal's decision and leave was granted on 17 May. We have received a number of representations about the cases from hon. Members, organisations and individuals.