Petitions

Martyn Day Excerpts

Monday 29th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[Patrick Grady (Glasgow North) (SNP)]

Having spent the day dealing with the injustice of the Post Office Horizon scandal, we move to the injustice of the infected blood scandal. I join a number of right hon. and hon. colleagues in presenting a petition on behalf of constituents who are seeking justice, and I pay tribute to my constituent Joyce Donnelly, the chair of the Scottish Infected Blood Forum, who is the first signatory on the petition.

The petition states:

The petition of residents of the constituency of Glasgow North,

Declares that people who received infected blood and who have suffered as a consequence have, along with their families, waited far too long for redress.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to implement the recommendations in the Second Interim Report of the Infected Blood Inquiry without delay.

And the petitioners remain, etc.

[P002962]

[Martyn Day (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (SNP)]

I rise to present a petition on behalf of the residents of Linlithgow and East Falkirk in relation to the recognition of Peter McLagan MP. I would like to pay tribute to local historian David Main, who alerted me to the legacy of Peter McLagan and who has done some tremendous work on keeping his memory alive. In case Members do not know, Peter McLagan was Scotland’s first ethnic minority MP. He was also the longest-serving MP in Scotland during Queen Victoria’s reign, serving from 1865 to 1893. Members might have noticed the pioneers display in the Admission Order Office corridor, but they will not have seen any reference to Peter McLagan, who has sadly been missed off the list. We have been trying for some time to have that rectified. The petitioners therefore request

“that the House of Commons urge the Government to act to ensure the omission of Peter McLagan MP from ‘The Pioneers’ display is rectified at the earliest opportunity.”

Following is the full text of the petition:

[The petition of residents of the constituency of Linlithgow and East Falkirk,

Welcomes that the temporary display “The Pioneers: The First Asian and Black MPs” has been moved to form part of the permanent display that is located in the Admissions Order Office Corridor; acknowledges the permanent recognition of these groundbreaking MPs; regrets that permanently honouring them has taken so long; and further regrets that Scotland’s first mixed-race MP, Peter McLagan, who served the Constituency of Linlithgowshire from 1865 to 1893 and was the longest serving Scottish Member during the reign of Queen Victoria, is not included in “The Pioneers” display.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to act to ensure the omission of Peter McLagan MP from “The Pioneers” display is rectified at the earliest opportunity.

And the petitioners remain, etc.]

[P002965]