§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Government have spent on(a) legal assistance and (b) other costs arising from the applications by Mohamed and Ali Al Fayed for British citizenship. [4824]
§ Mr. KirkhopeUp to 28 October 1996, the Home Office's legal costs were £53,915.41. Details of internal Home Office administrative and other costs are not available as they have not been recorded separately.
§ Mr. PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what considerations led him to indicate his intention of lodging an appeal in the House of Lords against the decision in the Appeal Court on the citizenship applications of Mohammed and Ali Al Fayed. [4823]
6W
§ Mr. KirkhopeI decided to appeal to the House of Lords because the case raises an important point of law concerning the operation of the British Nationality Act 1981 which needs to be settled.
§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give an estimate of the costs of both parties payable by the Home Office following the recent decision of the Court of Appeal in R.v. the Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Al Fayed. [5270]
§ Mr. KirkhopeUp to 28 October 1996, the Home Office's legal costs were £53,915.41. I have no means of estimating what the costs of the appellants might be.