Jagtar Singh Johal

Debate between Bob Blackman and Rehman Chishti

Wednesday 7th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Rehman Chishti]

It is a real pleasure to face the shadow Minister, and I look forward—if I am in post—to exchanging views with her on these specific points. First, she raised the actions or non-actions of the former Prime Minister with regard to this specific case. It is important, when such an accusation is made, that it is fully and thoroughly investigated and looked at. That will be done by the High Court. As I say, Mr Johal has an active civil litigation case against Her Majesty’s Government on this matter. That is an issue before the court, and we must let the legal process take its course. I therefore cannot and will not comment on this matter, in line with long-established practice, as I am sure she appreciates.

I am also sure that the hon. Lady would agree that we all in this House respect the separation of power between the Executive, the judiciary and the legislature, and, with regard to the intelligence agencies, the various checks and balances. We have the Intelligence and Security Committee, the Investigatory Powers Tribunal and the Investigatory Powers Commissioner. There is no doubt that the accusations that have been made need to be fully and thoroughly looked at, in line with the High Court case.

The hon. Lady’s second point related to human rights and our engagement with India. Let me make it clear: we believe that trade is vital for our economy and future prosperity, but that in no way compromises the United Kingdom’s commitment to upholding human rights at the core of our foreign policy. We will not pursue trade to the exclusion of human rights. We regard both as important parts of a deep, mature and wide-ranging relationship with our international trading partners. The “2030 Roadmap for India-UK future relations”, which was agreed by the former Prime Minister with Prime Minister Modi, has a specific agreement about a commitment to resolving long-running or complex consular cases.

On the other specific cases that hon. Lady raised, I see the Minister for Asia and the Middle East on the Front Bench, who covers a different thematic region in the world, and she will no doubt take them on board. I am happy to ensure that the hon. Lady gets an answer about what the Government are doing on those matters.

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for West Dunbartonshire (Martin Docherty-Hughes) on pursuing this case on behalf of his constituent. He has been assiduous in pursuing justice for Jagtar Singh Johal. I will come back to the plight of Jagtar Singh Johal rather than the case against the Government. I understand that he is a member of the Khalistani Liberation Force, which is a proscribed organisation in India. Indeed, at the moment he is facing up to eight charges of murder or attempted murder. Will my hon. Friend ensure that consular assistance is provided to him so that he gets a fair trial, and then we can deal with the issues that result?

Immigration Bill

Debate between Bob Blackman and Rehman Chishti

Tuesday 13th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands).

I have the pleasure and honour of representing the most diverse community in the whole country. Our constituency has representatives of every country on the planet, every language spoken on earth and every religion under the sun. Against that backdrop, one may imagine that immigration is not an issue. It is, however, the No. 1 issue on the lips of every individual throughout my constituency for the simple reason that people are concerned that there is a massive difference between legal immigration and illegal immigration. I am absolutely certain that we need to send the message out loud and clear that people who want to come to this country to work and contribute are welcome. Our public services would collapse without people coming here and giving their service. Our service industry in London would collapse overnight if we did not have proper legal immigration. The reality is that in my part of the world the overwhelming majority of people are working and contributing to society.

There is a clear concern, however. When I was elected in 2010, I was presented with more than 50 pending cases that had not been dealt with by the Home Office for more than 10 years. These were people who had been in the country for 10 years without knowing whether they had the right to be here. Their families had grown up in this country, but they still did not know whether they had the right of abode. We had more than 200 colleges in my borough—I call them colleges, but most of them were little rooms above shops where students would come along, get their papers stamped and then go off and work for cash in local restaurants, takeaways and other facilities. It was clearly a way to avoid our immigration rules, so I am delighted that the Home Secretary and her team abolished those colleges and permitted only legal colleges that actually offer an education.

[Rehman Chishti]

I said earlier that 600 bogus colleges were set up during the Blair years—that figure was challenged by an Opposition Member—and that in 2013 the coalition Government, as reported by “Dispatches” on 15 April 2013, closed them down and removed their licences. Does that not show the problem we had when we entered government and the lengths to which we are going to deal with the matter?

[Bob Blackman]

My hon. Friend’s intervention describes the national problem. I was talking about a localised problem in one London borough alone.

We know that some illegal immigrants drive vehicles and work for cash in an uncontrolled way, and every day people approach my office asking me to speed up their claim for asylum or the right to remain. Those individuals have been waiting far too long. A compassionate society does not allow people to wait and wait for a decision. I say, let us make a decision and ensure that someone either has the right to remain or is asked to leave, rather than being left in limbo in an artificial state. It is unfair and unjust, and is no good for our society and country.

We need proper rules and regulations on who will be admitted, who will be allowed to work and who will be allowed to stay. I ask the Minister to make it clear that working legal immigrants are welcome. Equally, can we show compassion for certain parts of our industries? For example, we should allow restaurateurs who need to attract chefs with the right qualifications to bring them in, rather than excluding them, leaving those restaurants to depend on illegal workers. Care homes, too, require highly skilled individuals. We need those people to come here, work in our society and contribute to it.

We then must crack down on those who come here and work illegally. The Bill, which contains measures to make that happen, is a work in progress, rather than an end in itself. We want to welcome people who, be they studying or working, wish to make this country their home, but we must make sure they go through the proper procedures and get proper approval before they arrive, rather than entering illegally and being trafficked or exploited by unscrupulous individuals. I look forward to the Bill progressing into law, and if I can help to improve it, my services will be at hand for the Bill Committee.

Tobacco Packaging

Debate between Bob Blackman and Rehman Chishti

Thursday 7th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman]

The hon. Lady comes on to a particular issue. The vast majority of smokers begin smoking in childhood. Two thirds of current smokers began under the age of 18 and we know that 200,000 young people under the age of 15 begin to smoke every year. When you add in the people that begin to smoke between 15 and 18, it becomes 300,000 smokers per year. Once someone is hooked, it is very difficult to give up. Most people say that after the direct sale of cigarettes to minors was made unlawful, many young people still continued to start smoking. Cancer Research stated in 2011 that more than 200,000 young people under the age of 16 had started to smoke. We must make sure that we reduce that number quite drastically.

[Rehman Chishti (Gillingham and Rainham) (Con)]

My hon. Friend talks about the accessibility of cigarettes for people who take up smoking. Gillingham has the largest amount of illegal cigarettes smoked in the country, which has an effect on health, the economy and crime. Does he agree that more needs to be done nationally to ensure that we stop these illegal cigarettes coming in to our country?

[Bob Blackman]

I agree completely. That demonstrates the failure of the tobacco industry to stop the illicit trade, even under the current advertising arrangements for packaging.