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Dr. Rudi Vis (Finchley and Golders Green) (Lab): I have spoken about Cyprus in previous Adjournment debates, but I shall not do so today, given the very sensitive negotiations that are being held in respect of Turkey's possible accession to the EU on 3 October. I shall turn instead to the proscription in the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States of the People's Mujaheddin Organisation of Iran—the PMOI—in the review of the Terrorism Act 2000.
Obviously, no one wants to undermine effective and lawful measures against terrorist organisations, but the PMOI is a legitimate resistance movement with the aim of establishing democracy and respect for human rights in Iran. Yesterday was new year's day for Iranians the world over, and two days ago I attended an international symposium of parliamentarians and jurists in the assembly hall of Church House in Deans yard, where I spoke in much the same terms as now.
The PMOI has ceased all military activities since June 2001. More importantly, its activities, which were confined to Iran and never took place outside, were aimed at the repressive regime of the mullahs. The proscription of the PMOI and another 20 organisations was discussed in the House for one and a half hours, and no evidence against the PMOI was forthcoming in that debate. The proscription seems to be a legal construct, but in reality it is a political construct, so it can be done and undone.
Mrs. Rajavi, who is seen by the PMOI as the president elect, and directs a large administration in France in preparation for and in the hope of a takeover in Iran, recently spoke in the European Parliament. She rightly rejects the appeasement approach that France, Germany and the UK want to follow. She also rightly rejects the war option. She presented a third option—change brought about by the Iranian people and the Iranian resistance.
It is difficult to understand the appeasement road. Why would anyone be in favour of a regime that has no human rights, has a nuclear weapons programme, exports terrorism and fundamentalism and has killed 120,000 of its own people? It is also difficult to
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understand the war option, particularly after Iraq. I would add that there are few similarities between the societies of Iran and Iraq.
Mrs. Rajavi's third way is surely the preferred option. It requires the proscription of the PMOI to be lifted as soon as possible. Doing so would be part of bringing much of what is now so dangerous and difficult in the middle east to an end. I ask my hon. Friend the Deputy Leader of the House to put my request to my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, for an answer based on real evidence.
I wish all hon. Members a tranquil Easter.
5.8 pm
Mr. David Amess (Southend, West) (Con): I wish all those who are leaving the House voluntarily a long and happy retirement. The House will miss their contributions for various reasons, and I am sure that their constituents are grateful for what they have been able to do for them.
I want to raise a number of issues before the House adjourns for the Easter recess. They all involve injustice. In this country there is increasingly a feeling of unjust treatment. The unborn child is treated unjustly under existing legislation, and that would increase if the Science and Technology Committee report were implemented and parents were allowed to choose the sex of their children.
Only this week I was lobbied by the Fire Brigades Union, which believes that its members' pensions have been dealt with unjustly. It advised me that the Government plan to close 46 local emergency fire control rooms and replace them with only nine regional control centres. That is unsafe and unjust.
Only a few days ago, all Members were lobbied by an Alzheimer's group. In Central Lobby, I met a constituent called Mrs. Glassbrook. Baroness Chalker is a relative of hers, and together we have been trying to deal with the case of Mrs. Glassbrook's husband for five years. I asked how her husband was and she said that sadly, he died last month. I have just part of the file that I have on her husband before me now, but the help that he needed came too late. I vow to that lady to get justice for all those who suffer with Alzheimer's.
I also seek justice for Southend council tax payers. Just a few weeks ago, I raised the issue in an Adjournment debate. The present leader of Southend council is standing down in May because of the stress that he has suffered trying to make ends meet. He wrote a brief letter to me saying that in response to the debate, the Minister talked
"about percentages rather than money. He failed to say that most of the 4 per cent. increase had to go to Education and that what was left over did not even cover the pensions deficit that they insist we pay. Once these issues are addressed there is a minus score to cover inflation and job evaluation which is also a government ruling."
As the leader of the council puts it, 4 per cent. of nothing is nothing.
It is crazy that the Office for National Statistics should claim that the population of Southend has fallen by some 20,000. When one adds up the number of
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electors in both constituencies and includes the number of those aged under 18, one gets more than the 160,000 figure reached by the ONS. I said to the Minister that perhaps we could set aside some time to count all the human beings living in Southend on a particular day, and he is going to come back to me on that point. I have made an appointment with the ONS to go through the figures in great detail.
There is further injustice in the way in which law and order is being dealt with at the moment. Most hon. Members saw the BBC programme "Drunk and Dangerous", which contained appalling scenes. I hope to meet the programme producers shortly, but the programme ended with details of the action taken against some of the individuals shown. One got a £35 penalty ticket and another got an £85 penalty ticket. One gentleman was so severely injured that he lay in Southend hospital for five weeks, but no action was taken against his assailant.
Hardly a week goes by that I do not get a letter from a constituent about unjust sentencing. Recently, we all read about Jamie Mason, a 12-year-old boy who was killed in January by someone who should not have been in Britain in the first place. That gentleman was sentenced to eight weeks in jail.
In December, a young man was found dead outside the nightclub featured in "Drunk and Dangerous". All the police resources were concentrated outside the nightclub, while no doubt the rest of the town was open to all and sundry. Who decides how forces are deployed? Why are nightclubs never challenged? How is it that the general public have to pay for the disorder outside such places?
I was drawn to a recent article headed, "Where are the Police when you need them? Fewer crimes than ever are being solved. What's gone wrong and how can we rebuild a force to be proud of?" The most reliable figures for Essex show that crime detection is down 19 per cent. and the number of people brought to justice is down 8 per cent. The article ends with four suggestions: follow the example of West Midlands police and free officers from paperwork; spend more time on foot patrol, solving the crimes that concern the public most; be accessible, even in rural areas—the number of police stations has dropped from 2,700 to 1,900 since 1990; and improve police officers' customer relations skills. I hope that the newly appointed chief constable of Essex has time to read that article. If he does not have a copy, I will send him one.
I hope that a few Members listened to the "Today" programme this morning to hear of the plight of my constituent, Maajid Nawaz, and the two other detainees. It is an absolute disgrace. They are serving a five-year sentence, which in Egypt really means five years, and have already done three years. Maajid's mother came to see me in great distress, because the men were deprived recently of many of the human rights that we expect. The families would very much welcome a further meeting with the Foreign Secretary to talk about the men's welfare. There must be an arrangement whereby the Government can ensure that the men serve the rest of their sentence in the United Kingdom.
A local fisherman came to see me recently, because he was concerned about fishing quotas for smaller vessels, and I shall raise the matter in Brussels next week. He was
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concerned about the allocation for the non-sector group, which comprises about 240 boats of under 10 m and about 24 boats of over 10 m. It was announced that the quota for the under-10s would be 1 tonne of sole a month for nine months. The fishermen could not survive on that amount, so after some lobbying they were awarded 2 tonnes a month for nine months—but that is more per boat than the yearly quota for the whole of the over-10 m fleet, so those who work those boats are undoubtedly being treated unjustly.
On 4 April, at Southend United football ground, I am proud to say that we shall be launching a strategy to tackle obesity. Sporting celebrities and people from the health and education services will attend the conference. My final remarks are also about Southend United. Last year the team reached the final of the LDV Vans trophy in Cardiff. Everyone said, "David, you've got to go along. You'll never see Southend in a football final again in your lifetime." What happened? The team reached the final again this year. I wish the manager, Steve Tilson, and the director, Ron Martin, the very best of luck for Sunday 10 April, when they will again be travelling to the Millennium stadium for the final against Wrexham. I hope that on that occasion justice will be seen to be done, the best team will win, and that the best team will be Southend United.
5.18 pm
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