US Immigration Policy

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Monday 30th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Boris Johnson]

I am afraid that I could not quite make out the earlier part of the hon. Gentleman’s question, but I totally agree with the last bit.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Holocaust survivors have said that this reminds them of the 1930s, so is this a time for appeasement or a time for standing up for British values?

[Boris Johnson]

I think that it is time for perspective and time to stop demeaning the holocaust.

EU Membership: Economic Benefits

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Wednesday 15th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

I shall be voting next week to remain in the European Union, for three reasons —an idealistic reason, a practical reason and a selfish reason. The idealistic reason is that the EU has contributed to peace and freedom within its member states, and that is something for us to be proud of.

The practical reason is that we are interconnected with our European neighbours. A constituent stopped me on the street and asked whether we would still be able to use the European health insurance card if we came out of Europe. She was anxious because her husband has a particular medical condition and they have to go to a warm climate in Europe every winter. They are protected by the European health insurance card while they are there. That makes a practical difference to her, and she told me that if it were not for the card, they would have to pay an extra £2,000 each time, which would make it impossible for them to go. So practically, it is important that we stay in the European Union.

The selfish reason is that we are better off in the European Union. No one in this debate has challenged the view that there will be a massive economic shock if we leave. Everyone accepts that. Indeed, that fact is recognised by nine out of 10 economists, by the OECD, by the IMF and by the World Bank. There is consensus on that, and it is clear that there will be difficulties if we leave and that jobs and livelihoods will be affected. It is better for our self-interest if we remain in the EU.

The list of businesses lining up to say that they are in favour of remaining in the European Union is vast. It includes Hitachi, J. P. Morgan, GKN, Airbus, Glaxo, BT Openreach and, today, Rolls-Royce. They are joined by 90% of trade unions. Businesses and employers’ and employees’ organisations are in favour of remaining. The EEF, the manufacturers employers association, is overwhelmingly in favour of remaining in the EU because it is good for manufacturing, and as my hon. Friend the Member for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock) said, the steel industry would face even more challenges if we left the EU.

[Kevin Barron (Rother Valley) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend is right. After the miners’ strike in the mid-1980s, the running down of coal mining in my constituency and many others in South Yorkshire devastated the local economies, which were fragile even when mining was taking place. Thousands of jobs were lost not only in coal mining but in supply industries. The objective 1 programme, which was introduced in 2000 and ran for six years, put some £2.4 billion into not only jobs and skills but health, neighbourhood renewal and housing. More than £820 million of that came from Europe, and without it south Yorkshire would not be what it is today. Many Ministers travel to places like the advanced manufacturing park, but they would not be able to go there if Europe had not taken the lead in the regeneration of poor areas in the UK. Such places just would not be there.

[Nic Dakin]

My right hon. Friend is completely right about the power of the European Union in assisting us in regenerating areas of the countries like his so that there can be a renaissance and they can move forward.

I echo the reference that has been made to Siemens, which is an important employer in my region, with a base in Lincoln and developments in Hull. It has said:

“Siemens believes that being part of the EU is good for UK jobs and prosperity and we have concerns about the possible effects of a vote to leave.”

The company is investing in new wind power and renewables, which bring a lot of opportunities for steel. We should not take any risks with that future.

There is a massive choice about our future before the nation. In making that choice, I hope that everyone thinks it through very carefully. We respect the view of the British people, and I hope very much that they vote to remain.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

Oral Answers to Questions

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. I wish we had more time, but I am afraid we do not. I call Nic Dakin.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

11. By what date he expects to have set a timetable for overseas territories with financial centres to adopt central registers of beneficial ownership or similarly effective systems.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (James Duddridge)]

I had productive discussions at the Joint Ministerial Council with leaders of the overseas territories in December. We agreed progress on implementing central registers, and equally effective systems should be kept under continuous and close review. Discussions are still ongoing, but I want to see significant progress ahead of the anti-corruption summit that will be hosted by the Prime Minister in May.

[Nic Dakin]

Will the Minister confirm that the overseas territories and Crown dependencies will attend the summit? Will we do our part to make sure that we secure their commitment to clean up their act and make company owners public?

[James Duddridge]

Final invitations for the summit have not yet gone out, but discussions are very much ongoing. In fact, the director for overseas territories and the National Crime Agency are currently visiting the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands to thrash out some of the detail that is needed.

Persecution of Religious Minorities: Pakistan

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Thursday 11th February 2016 Westminster Hall

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

As always, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Turner. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden (Siobhain McDonagh) on securing this debate, the importance of which is demonstrated by the number of people here to take part on both sides of the Chamber.

As hon. Friends from across the House have said, the Ahmadis are a faith group that makes a huge contribution in this country and internationally. I am very blessed to have an Ahmadi community in Scunthorpe. Although it is relatively small, it has been involved in a lot of good work on various things in the community, to the benefit of everybody. I take the opportunity to thank them for that today. I also had the privilege and pleasure of joining the Jalsa Salana in 2014. Everybody could see and feel the way in which the Ahmadiyya people live, with the “Love for all, hatred for none” belief that is central to their way of life.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe) just pointed out, the international work done through Humanity First is an example of the way in which Ahmadis are not only working locally and nationally, but internationally on behalf of all of us. They should be commended for that, and the fact that they suffer in the way they do, in Pakistan in particular, is to be condemned.

Mr Muzaffar Ahmad, from the local Ahmadiyya community in my constituency, said to me recently that the

“persecution of any religious group should be taken seriously and dealt with. If this is not addressed at the source it can proliferate and reach our country as well.”

He went on to say that, sadly, there have been examples of discrimination closer to home. In a democratic, tolerant society such as the United Kingdom, we address those examples of discrimination and worse, and deal with them effectively in our own way. Sadly however, in Pakistan, the Ahmadi Muslim community is the only religious community to be targeted by the Pakistan state on grounds of faith. Ahmadis have been denied basic rights—the rights to life, to vote, to freedom of faith and to dignity after death.

On paper, the constitution of Pakistan does not permit discrimination for school admissions on the sole basis of religion, and as many colleagues have indicated, the Pakistani Government has signed the international covenant on civil and political rights, which—as hon. Members know—guarantees a variety of religious freedoms. However, I want to focus particularly on access to education.

To attend school in Pakistan, students must disclose their faith when applying to schools. That is a hindrance to the ability of Ahmadi Muslims to gain access to education. As I hope everyone in this Chamber and beyond knows, education can absolutely transform young people’s lives, and to be given a lesser education based on religion is nothing less than appalling.

As the hon. Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) pointed out, women and girls have been particularly discriminated against by the Pakistan state. They are particularly affected by discrimination because the style of their hijab is distinctive, which prevents them from participating fully in educational and professional settings, potentially furthering gender inequality in Pakistan.

Furthermore, Ahmadi children can be bullied in schools because of their faith. There is evidence that schools with a large number of Ahmadi students are generally assigned teachers who are less effective. All those things affect the quality of education received by Ahmadi students.

I will give a couple of examples to illustrate that discrimination in action. The case of the students in District Layyah serves as a worrisome reminder of how unfounded allegations can result in children being arrested and held in jail for months with no regard for their right to education or welfare. On 28 January 2009, in Kot Sultan, four children and one adult were accused of blasphemy and arrested under section 295-C of Pakistan’s penal code which carries the death penalty. The police arrested the accused without establishing a credible prima facie case, charging them without evidence and before conducting any investigation. The children were accused of graffiti which defiled the name of the Prophet Mohammed on the toilet walls of a local non-Ahmadi mosque.

The inspector of the case admitted that

“the police do not know of any substantial evidence that links the four students with the crime”

and there was no evidence that anything had even been written in the first place. The accused children were later moved to the DG Khan prison, which is located a long distance from their home town, making visiting difficult for relatives.

Despite the arrests, many speeches and protests were made to boycott the Ahmadis. Looting and threats of violence took place, to the extent that Ahmadi Muslims feared for their lives and were forced to move their families out of the area. All that took place despite the fact that the two men who were the prime movers in the accusation did not bring forward anything of any quality. The children remained unlawfully detained for six months before finally being granted bail. This is just one example of the sort of thing that has been and is going on, and that we should condemn.

The second example is the removal of Ahmadi Muslim public figures from educational syllabuses. Obviously, the people who are included in syllabuses become role models for achievement and so on. No educational syllabuses include major Ahmadi Muslim public figures who shaped the history of the country. Ahmadi Muslims contributed to the establishment of Pakistan in 1947 and, prior to the anti-Ahmadi laws, served the country with distinction in every sphere of life. A number of such leading figures are also known internationally for their distinctive service and contribution, including two prominent Pakistani Ahmadi Muslims. Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan was instrumental in deciding the Pakistani boundary before partition. He was also Pakistan’s first Foreign Minister, representative at the UN and President of the International Court of Justice at The Hague—a significant figure. Another prominent and yet easily erased figure in history is Professor Abdus Salam, a ground-breaking scientist, famous for his work in the field of physics, who was awarded the first Nobel prize in Pakistani history. People of all faiths in Pakistan can be proud of them and they should be included in the literature, syllabuses and curriculum followed in that country.

I could detail many more examples of discrimination and prevention of access to education, but I will not because I want to be brief. It is important to use our leadership role to encourage Pakistan and ensure that it allows fair access for people of all faiths to education in their country. To be denied that is to be denied a central human right.

Some hon. Members, including my hon. Friend the Member for Mitcham and Morden and the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Scully), have pointed out the importance of the Department for International Development’s budget and the significant amount that goes to Pakistan. We should ensure that it does not go without a commitment by that state to tackle these deep-seated issues, to allow all young people, wherever they are from, to have proper access to education and to ensure that the Ahmadis are no longer restricted in that access as they are currently.

Will the Minister indicate what steps the Government are taking to ensure that aid is not being misused by the Pakistani Government to promote religious intolerance and discrimination, and how the aid is being used as encouragement and a lever to ensure that the sort of practices that have too often come to our attention cease and that proper access is given? Will he also say what steps the Government are taking to ensure universities in the United Kingdom do not become partners with universities in Pakistan that promote religious hatred and discrimination in their educational material and their recruitment and admissions procedures?

Tibet

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Thursday 18th June 2015 Westminster Hall

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Thank you, Mr Gray. It is a pleasure, as ever, to serve under your chairmanship. You have just demonstrated its great clarity in making that decision. It is also a pleasure to follow the spokesperson for the Scottish National party, who gave us a good picture of what is going on in Scotland, which is replicated across all the regions and nations of the United Kingdom. In this Chamber, we are concerned to look at how the United Kingdom and its Government respond on our behalf on this important matter.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds North East (Fabian Hamilton), who has been a doughty campaigner on Tibetan rights for many years. We got the full sense of that through the comprehensive way in which he laid out the issues in terms of the international perspective and the UK perspective, as well as issues more germane to our domestic policy.

I want to pick up on the words of Sarah Sewall, the US Government’s Under-Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, because they capture the essence of the issue. Speaking at an event recently, she said:

“The problem of Tibet is, of course, also a problem for China. For the United States, just as for many countries represented here today, China is a vital strategic partner, and we welcome its participation and leadership in the web of international norms, laws and practices that have helped preserve global stability since the end of World War II. As we look at the past 70 years, one of the key long term lessons is the cost and fragility of the repressive state. Thus, as we look for China to play a growing role in the international community, we also look for it to abide by its international commitments with respect to the human rights of people in Tibet.”

That captures the challenges of the moment and of our time. China is an important strategic partner, and the Chinese people are terribly important to the world’s future, but if China is to be a truly modern state, taking its place in the world and showing the leadership I am sure the Chinese Premier wishes it to, it needs to step up to the plate and behave in a way that recognises the human rights of others.

In a sense, Tibet is symbolic of all that. China will have to get its head around how to respond to Tibet in a 21st century way, so that it does not become or remain a repressive state, because as a repressive state it cannot realise its full potential and take its full place in the world. That is an issue not only for the Tibetan people but for the Chinese people—it is a global issue.

We have an excellent Minister who I am sure will rise to the challenge when he responds. The UK Government, in various manifestations, have a good record on Tibet. That does not mean that they please everyone or that there are not voices saying, “The UK Government should be doing more,” and it is right and proper that the voices in this debate have tested the Government, but they have a good record on Tibet. I am confident and hopeful that, when he responds, the Minister will give us a strong sense of forward direction in friendship and support of both the Tibetan and Chinese peoples, because they are important not only for us, but for the world.

Thank you for allowing me to join the debate rather late, Mr Gray.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

I would like to think that the right hon. Gentleman made it clear that he was not going to add to the scaremongering rumours that he has just described, especially given that the Government in whom he served were an ardent champion of this trade deal with the United States. It is clear that the TTIP deal will not limit the ability of Governments to legislate for, or to regulate, public services. It will provide businesses large and small in this country with enormous opportunities to get access to a US market of 300 million customers, and the entire House should be united in supporting that.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

15. What recent discussions he has had with his EU counterparts on freedom of movement within the EU.

[The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr Philip Hammond)]

I have discussed EU migration extensively with my counterparts as part of a series of visits to EU capitals to discuss EU reform and renegotiation. We are not alone in seeing EU migration as a qualified right. We secured reference in the June European Council conclusions to the need to protect EU migration from misuse, and last week the Prime Minister set out his proposals for doing just that.

[Nic Dakin]

Will the Secretary of State confirm that we should use the Dano judgment, which confirmed that member states have significant leeway, to ensure that people who come to the UK come to work, not to claim? Will he also confirm that we can do that without threatening our position as a member of the EU?

[Mr Hammond]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. The Dano judgment has once again shown that sometimes we in this country assume that the body of EU regulation requires us to do things that it actually does not. We sometimes find, as we did in that case, that there is more flexibility to work within the existing treaty powers than is assumed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

3. What recent discussions he has had with his overseas counterparts on upholding freedom of religion and belief.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

4. What recent discussions he has had with his overseas counterparts on upholding freedom of religion and belief.

[The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Mr Hugo Swire)]

We remain deeply concerned about a disturbing and unwelcome trend of persecution on the basis of religion or belief. Regrettably, this is not confined to a single region nor to a single faith, but we counteract it wherever we can. This has included recent work from Sudan to Nigeria, from Iraq to Burma, and from Pakistan to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

[Mr Swire]

The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight these terrible things. Some hon. Members will have seen the reports in The Times this morning about ISIS in Iraq, and they are truly troubling. We continue to work through the United Nations to ensure that states implement Human Rights Council resolution 16/18, which focuses on combating religious intolerance, protecting the human rights of minorities and promoting pluralism in society. The hon. Gentleman will have to agree, however, that ensuring freedom of religion and freedom of speech in some of these countries, which face the most horrific internal disruptions, is extremely difficult.

[Nic Dakin]

Ayatollah Tehrani’s gift of illuminated calligraphy to the Baha’i is an act in the spirit of the UN declaration of human rights, which states that everyone has a right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Notwithstanding what the Minister has just said, which I welcome, what more can Britain do to celebrate such acts and challenge religious intolerance, wherever it occurs in the world?

[Mr Swire]

I think that it would be appropriate for me to pay tribute to my noble Friend Baroness Warsi, who has been doing some excellent work in this area, not least by convening a high-level international grouping on the subject during the UN General Assembly ministerial week in New York. She will reconvene that group. We have also set up an advisory group on the freedom of religion or belief in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and we will continue to do what we can through our embassies around the world. It is extremely difficult work at this time, when religions of all types, not just Christians, are facing the most horrific oppression in all four corners of the world.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Tuesday 4th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

Of course I will come on to these issues in a minute, in my statement. My hon. Friend is quite right to point to what has happened in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and, indeed, Transnistria, where Russian troops remain stationed on a permanent or long-term basis. There is every indication that the intentions for Crimea are the same.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

T8. Notwithstanding the Minister’s answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Rochdale (Simon Danczuk), the political violence and deaths in Bangladesh are deeply disturbing. How are the Government using their good offices to assist the parties there to restore civil order and create good governance?

[Mark Simmonds]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to highlight the appalling electoral violence in Bangladesh, which we completely condemn. We continue to support the Government structures by updating electoral registers, training polling officials and putting in place new systems for publishing details, particularly as people stand for office. Those improvements will, we hope, create and strengthen the foundations for better future elections.

Bangladesh

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Rushanara Ali]

I was coming to that. The hon. Lady is well versed in both the recent and earlier history of interim, caretaker Governments. She is right that that is why the caretaker Government system ended up being changed.

The fact is that the opposition parties lack confidence in the election commission. The commission has been recognised by the international community as potentially having the ability to create the framework for free and fair elections but, regrettably, that has not happened. That is what I want to focus on in the rest of my remarks.

Before I do so, I wanted to mention the concerns, which will be shared by colleagues on both sides of the House, of British Bangladeshis in relation to their family members and their ties with their country of origin. Many have important business and trade ties as well as family ties—they support family members, promote education and give wider support through remittances. Half a million British Bangladeshis are deeply concerned about the situation. It is right that we debate the matter because we need to give our attention to what is happening in Bangladesh.

As hon. Members have discussed, our nation has major economic interests as well as development interests—we invest a great deal and give a great deal in development assistance. Those interventions cannot be undermined.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend raises the concerns of the Bangladeshi community, which makes huge contributions to our society in the UK. The debate is important to them, and our actions to help to improve the situation in Bangladesh are supremely important.

[Rushanara Ali]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention.

People face a daily grind of transport blockades and national strikes, known as hartals, which undermine trade and investment and create fear for those who want to visit family members and relatives, and for those who have trading ties. In recent months, significant numbers of people have lost their lives—we will hear more about that in the debate—and many have been injured. The backdrop of the war crimes tribunal means a great deal of tension and unrest, alongside the unrest in the run-up to the elections. Such turmoil should be of grave concern to the international community. We need to redouble our efforts to ensure that there is dialogue and an end to the violence.

Turning to the election, half the seats in the January general election were uncontested. Many have complained that the election process was not, by any standards, free and fair. It is deeply disappointing that a significant proportion of the population did not take part or have confidence in the election. Free and fair elections are an essential component of a functional democracy, and when they do not happen it is a disgrace, not least for Bangladesh, which has such a proud history. According to various reports, some 18 people died as a result of election day violence. According to Human Rights Watch, many innocent civilians, including young children, were caught up in the crossfire of violence in the run-up to the elections and on election day.

The EU High Representative, Baroness Cathy Ashton, said that she

“regrets that the main political forces in Bangladesh have been unable to create the necessary conditions for transparent, inclusive and credible elections, despite many efforts, including most recently under UN auspices…The EU remains nonetheless ready to observe the elections should the political conditions allow for the holding of transparent, inclusive and credible elections.”

It is a source of great regret that that has not happened. We need to move forward and ensure that people have confidence in the electoral process and that change occurs.

It is a source of great frustration that the leaders of the major political parties in Bangladesh were not able to reach a compromise that would have led to free and fair elections. The international community’s efforts, whether by the UK Government or my party’s leadership on successive visits by the current Prime Minister and the main Opposition leader Begum Khaleda Zia, or by the UN, the EU and our American allies, have fallen on deaf ears. With the other international challenges in Syria, the middle east and many other countries, the international community has limited capacity. We need the Government and Opposition parties of Bangladesh to recognise that patience is running out. They need to work together to find a solution that respects the interests of the people of Bangladesh.

Members across the House have raised the issue of minorities. I reiterate my condemnation of the violence, the targeting of minorities—particularly of Hindu communities, but of other communities too—and the burning of villages. That is a disgrace for a country whose history—Bengalis were persecuted when they were part of Pakistan—is about a fight for minority rights. It is, therefore, a source of great shame that minorities feel persecuted and have experienced persecution. The all-party group on Bangladesh has been working on this issue, and will continue to pursue it vigorously with colleagues across the House and work with the Government to ensure that our voice is strong and united in highlighting that this is of deep concern. The Government must act to protect minorities in Bangladesh.

There are great concerns about how the law enforcement agencies have acted. The law must be enforced in a proportionate manner and people must have the right to protest peacefully. The onus is also on all groups to protest peacefully, and we have all seen that that has not always been the case. The Bangladeshi Government and the Opposition have a responsibility to ensure that their supporters behave with restraint when they protest.

The hon. Member for St Albans raised the issue of the main leader of the Opposition being essentially under house arrest. That is of grave concern to everyone. Political leaders must have the right to take part in elections. As she rightly said, the pendulum has swung the other way. The cycle of violence, opposition and boycotts of Parliament must come to an end or Bangladesh will remain in a perpetual déjà vu experience of never being able to move on, and history will continue to repeat itself.

Bangladesh has the potential to advance economically. The World Bank states that growth rates are at about 6%, and Goldman Sachs predicts that it could be one of the next 11 countries to become a middle-income country. It has made progress in tackling poverty and improving girls’ education. However, the political dimension to the challenges facing Bangladesh stands to undermine those achievements and the country’s potential. Strategically, it is well placed, with the biggest global markets of India and China on its doorstep, but none of these opportunities are being maximised. Indonesia, another Muslim-majority country, is showing the way, though it too has challenges, with a growing economy and social development, so there is no reason why Bangladesh cannot move forward and achieve—if it gets its political house in order.

I appeal to those in Bangladesh listening to today’s debate to find ways to work together in the interests of the people of Bangladesh and not for partisan, political self-interest. That is the challenge for everyone in Bangladesh, as it is in any country. I hope that, as we move forward, we can work as partners and continue dialogue, despite our frustrations, to try to achieve free and fair elections and move beyond what has happened in recent months.

Will the Minister highlight what representations have been made to the Government of Bangladesh to relay our concerns about the elections and the violence? What discussions have there been with our EU and US allies, as well as the UN, since the elections? What steps will be taken to highlight our concerns? What will happen to our development assistance and trade and investment links with Bangladesh?

As the only person of Bangladeshi-British origin in the House, I take it upon myself to thank all hon. Members for their continued interest in Bangladesh. Despite the frustration that colleagues feel, it is a tribute to them that they continue to take an interest in Bangladesh. It is a country with so much potential, talent and dynamism, and its people want to get on, achieve and progress. Sadly, its politics are holding them back. We are united in wanting to see a future that is peaceful, stable and democratic. I hope we can all work towards that.

European Union (Referendum) Bill

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Friday 29th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I am afraid that I must report an error in the number reported as having voted in the Aye Lobby in the Division on amendment 71, which took place at 9.52 this morning. The Ayes were seven, not eight as reported. (Laughter.)

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dawn Primarolo)]

Order. I can tell by the reaction that we are all eternally grateful for the correction of the record. I will ensure that the Journal and Hansard record the correct number of votes in that Division.

Amendment proposed: 64, page 2, line 11, at end add—

‘(3A) Results for the referendum will be published for European parliamentary constituencies, except that Gibraltar’s shall be published separately from the rest of the South West return.’.—(Mr Thomas.)

Question put, That the amendment be made.