Clause 10 - Unification of appeal system
Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants, etc.) Bill
4:30 pm
Mr Edward Garnier (Harborough, Conservative)
The hon. Gentleman makes an interesting point. I asked the Foreign Office Minister with responsibility for our relations with Ecuador whether there was any Foreign and Commonwealth Office or other public policy reason why the Home Office should continue to want to deny Captain Viteri's judgment. I was told that there was no such
reason. It may well be that in due course the Government will be able to explain to me and to the hon. Gentleman why section 94 is so drawn.
It seems strange to me—I will put it no higher than that for the moment—that we have a Government prepared to exploit an appeals system, but not prepared to adduce its own evidence, or to cross-examine the evidence adduced by my constituent, in relation to a man from Ecuador and his family, or to permit that right to others who may be fleeing persecution, potential death and bodily and other forms of harm in overseas countries. The Government must make up their mind as to where the right and the morality lie. I know how the system can be fixed, but it is interesting that the Government light on the wrong part of the problem in order to mend what they think is wrong with it and to ingratiate themselves with those whose opinions are, in my opinion, least worthy of respect.