Mr Norman Fowler: I will not dwell unduly on the point which the hon. Gentleman made because I do not think that it was an important part of what he had to say. But I am surprised to learn about the last part of what he was saying, because I should have thought, if that had been the case, that he would have been a little more careful in the words he chose, which gave the impression that he was saying exactly...
Mr Norman Fowler: asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will open talks with other European Governments to discuss new ways of combating and preventing international terrorism.
Mr Norman Fowler: I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Does he agree that the kind of terrorists who struck in Munich could easily have struck in London, Paris or Amsterdam? Therefore, is there not a common European interest in combating terrorism of this kind? Will my right hon. Friend consider having discussions on the formation of some kind of European police squad to combat terrorism?
Mr Norman Fowler: asked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he is satisfied that the checks on the issue of national insurance cards are sufficient to prevent their issue to illegal immigrants; and if he will make a statement.
Mr Norman Fowler: I thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. Does he not agree that we rely on checks on the border to prevent illegal immigration and that the issue of national insurance cards is one of the few checks inside the border? What checks actually take place? Is there co-operation between his Department and the police on the issue of insurance cards?
Mr Norman Fowler: asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is satisfied with the present rôle given to the inspectors of constabulary, including the chief inspector; and whether he will make a statement.
Mr Norman Fowler: I do not dispute that last statement, but I draw my hon. and learned Friend's attention to the article touching on this problem which appeared in The Guardian last month. Is it not a great pity that the police service is losing a man of the experience of Frank Williamson? Will not my hon. and learned Friend examine the position to see whether inspectors of constabulary, in view of their...
Mr Norman Fowler: Everyone would accept the generality of what the hon. Member has said. As he has mentioned the last General Election, surely the point he is making was about restrictions on police recruiting. If he wants to compare the police recruiting figures in, for example, the first and last two years of the Labour Government he will find a considerable difference. That was the point that was being made...
Mr Norman Fowler: I will not comment on the arguments of the hon. Member for Renfrew, West (Mr. Buchan). Nor will I be as lengthy. I support the feeling which underlies the Bill. I do not want to deploy a statistical argument. The fears put forward by my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, Cathcart (Mr. Edward Taylor) are fears to which the House and the country should listen. The trend about which we must...
Mr Norman Fowler: I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I will rest my argument there. We should recognise the public concern about this issue. The public expect us to take note and to make reasonable proposals. I believe that what I have proposed is a reasonable amendment to the present life sentence.
Mr Norman Fowler: I rise in this post-Cinderella period to say that debates in the House on policy on crime are very rare, and when they occur they are usually initiated by a back bencher. There is nothing like the annual review given to defence policy and expenditure. That is a pity, because policy in this area should be put under a much greater scrutiny than it is. That is why I welcome the opportunity of...
Mr Norman Fowler: The figure for cannabis, the increase to over 9,000, is rather alarming. Did the rate of increase continue to accelerate in 1972, or is the number levelling out?
Mr Norman Fowler: asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is now in a position to announce a decision on his review of the law of citizenship.
Mr Norman Fowler: Will my right hon. Friend bear in mind the considerable support that exists for the setting up of an independent broadcasting council to hear complaints from the public, and that many people regard this as an urgent matter? If an inquiry is set up, will my right hon. Friend undertake that this subject will be within its terms of reference?
Mr Norman Fowler: I appreciate the aim of my right hon. Friend in doing this, but it is, of course, clear that the five-year working holidays apply not only to Australian and New Zealand young people coming here but to other people from the Commonwealth as well. There is no sign of any abuse at the moment, but would he keep this under review and perhaps think in terms of some restrictions on the numbers of...
Mr Norman Fowler: May I draw my right hon. Friend's attention to the great public concern about the increase in crimes of violence in the country, in particular those involving the use of fire arms, whether they be real or imitation? In view of the urgency of the situation, will he undertake to make time available so that the matter may be debated?
Mr Norman Fowler: I was a member of the Committee which produced that report. For the record, I hope that the hon. Gentleman will note that it was cautious in putting forward the detail of the solution suggested, and that in several paragraphs, although favouring the lay element in the the complaints procedure, the Committee did not definitely propose that the appeals tribunal was necessarily the final answer.
Mr Norman Fowler: No.
Mr Norman Fowler: That is exactly the point, for in the very next line the report goes on to say something else. The hon. Gentleman would do better not to make selective quotations. The sentence continues … possibly by setting up independent tribunals to consider appeals". That is the only point I make, and I think it right that it should be made for the record.
Mr Norman Fowler: I was talking about the hon. Member for York (Mr. Alexander W. Lyon).