Mr Tam Dalyell: I should like to ask the hon. Gentleman how many Welsh people likely to take an interest in these documents cannot read English as well as he or I?
Mr Tam Dalyell: I will be succinct and address questions to the Minister for Europe, who will respond to the debate. I am the last in the House of Commons of the so-called Jenkinsites, although that is not the term that we would have chosen for ourselves: the 69 Labour MPs who voted to go into the Common Market in October 1971. I am also, with my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister, the last of the...
Mr Tam Dalyell: Years ago, when I was a member of the indirectly elected European Parliament, a talented Frenchman called Emile Noel was its secretary. He said that it was crucial to overcome the problem of having to balance out nationalities rather than select talent. If the President's office is set up, will he be able to choose on the basis of talent rather than nationality the key people serving the...
Mr Tam Dalyell: rose—
Mr Tam Dalyell: Has the Leader of the House reflected on early-day motion 1627, in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn)? [That this House expresses grave concern at the decision of the Iraqi Interim Government to ban Al Jazeera from reporting in Iraq; and calls upon the Foreign Secretary to express this concern.] What would our reaction be if the "Today" programme, the...
Mr Tam Dalyell: While the Secretary of State could be forgiven, at least in my opinion, a certain impatience with the Scots, does he acknowledge that there is a delicate problem of access, especially to the university of Edinburgh, given the different regimes for tuition fees? Has that been considered in the Department and is it in contact with the Scottish Executive on that awkward matter?
Mr Tam Dalyell: To ask Defence Ministers to make a statement on the military situation of the coalition in Iraq. In candour, I should say that, had we not been sitting now anyway, my hon. Friends and I would have been among those asking for a recall on Iraq.
Mr Tam Dalyell: Has not the time come for a firm and early date for withdrawal? The alternative is chilling. Although the Minister has outlined the good efforts that our forces are making, those forces increasingly are seen as an army of occupation. The risks involved in withdrawal may be less than those involved in staying longer. A balance has to be struck, but should we not consider giving a firm date for...
Mr Tam Dalyell: What conclusions he has drawn in relation to Government policies for industry from his visit to Sun Microsystems at Linlithgow on Tuesday 31 August.
Mr Tam Dalyell: How about expeditious freight links?
Mr Tam Dalyell: So following that, at the risk of incurring the wrath of the right hon. Member for Fylde (Mr. Jack), may I ask what is the use of Eurofighter, which is hugely expensive? Are we simply enmeshed in contracts that we cannot get out of?
Mr Tam Dalyell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on progress towards establishing regional assemblies.
Mr Tam Dalyell: rose in his place and claimed to move, That the Question be now put.
Mr Tam Dalyell: On 26 September 2002, Peter Brookes, the cartoonist of The Times, depicted me in my place in my Chamber—as I am at the moment—holding up a copy of "Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Assessment of the British Government" and exploding: "Why didn't it make the Booker fiction prize shortlist?" I say that because there has been a great deal of hindsight. Some of us suspected the...
Mr Tam Dalyell: On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. May I make a House of Commons point of order, perhaps as Father of the House? The former Foreign Secretary has made a speech of great importance, whatever one may think about it. Why was not a single member of the Cabinet present to hear what he had to say? I am sure that 20, 30 or 40 years ago there would have been three, four or five Cabinet...
Mr Tam Dalyell: What recent representations he has received on ultra-light railway systems.
Mr Tam Dalyell: Are James Skinner's claims for the fuel efficiency of ultra-light rail convincing?
Mr Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to his statement in the debate on European Affairs of 16 June 2004, Official Report, columns 786–7, what steps he has taken personally to pursue the substance of the Bill on Marine Wildlife Conservation put forward by the hon. Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Randall); and if he will make a statement.
Mr Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Iraqi Government on the protection of Mesopotamiam archaelogy and antiquities.
Mr Tam Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the reconstruction of Iraq.