That this House notes with regret that the honourable Member for Dover has refused to withdraw his deplorable comment that 'There was one simple, basic reason why the 'Herald of Free Enterprise' went down - alcoholism among certain members of the crew'; reminds the House that the investigation into the disaster by Mr Justice Sheen found no evidence that alcohol misuse was in any way connected to the sinking of the ferry; hopes that the honourable Member for Dover will take the opportunity to apologise to the families of those who died for his insensitive comments; notes that 6th March 1997 marks the 10th anniversary of the 'Herald of Free Enterprise' tragedy and sends its condolences to the families and friends of all those who died; and remembers the heroic and gallant rescue attempts by the crew, many of whom lost their lives.

That this House notes with regret that the honourable Member for Dover has refused to withdraw his deplorable comment that 'There was one simple, basic reason why the 'Herald of Free Enterprise' went down - alcoholism among certain members of the crew'; reminds the House that the investigation into the...

That this House notes the intention of the Secretary of State for Defence to visit the town of Deal on Friday 14th February; calls upon him to apologise to the people of that town for the closure of the Royal Marines Music School; draws to his attention the words of Paul Watkins, the prospective Conservative candidate for Barnsley West; former Tory leader of Dover Council and resident of Deal, who stated that 'the IRA couldn't put the school out of business but the Government has managed it'; reminds him that the then Prime Minister, Baroness Thatcher, said 'If the school closed, the heart will be torn out of Deal'; and calls upon the honourable Member for Dover to stand by his comments at the time and boycott that visit unless and until such an apology is forthcoming.

That this House notes the intention of the Secretary of State for Defence to visit the town of Deal on Friday 14th February; calls upon him to apologise to the people of that town for the closure of the Royal Marines Music School; draws to his attention the words of...

That this House notes that William Nimmo Smith QC in his Report of the Monklands Inquiry regarding the allegations made by the honourable Member for Dover, stated, 'As his evidence went on I became increasingly unimpressed by it. I regarded his attitude as irresponsible'; and notes the remarks made by Judge Percy Harris QC after the honourable Member for Dover was fined ??180 for assault, that 'he acted like a child fighting for his favourite toy'; notes that, in the words of Judge Harris, honourable Members of Parliament like the honourable Member for Dover who 'inadvertently get involved with such a notorious lady as Pamela Bordes must expect to be closely examined'; expects the Prime Minister to recommend the deseleciton of the honourable Member for Dover without delay; and congratulates Alastair Campbell on his successful defence in his recent libel case.

That this House notes that William Nimmo Smith QC in his Report of the Monklands Inquiry regarding the allegations made by the honourable Member for Dover, stated, 'As his evidence went on I became increasingly unimpressed by it. I regarded his attitude as irresponsible'; and notes the remarks made by...

That this House deplores the comments made by the honourable Member for Dover during a House of Commons debate on Ferry Safety on 21st February in which he said, 'Alcoholism caused the 'Herald of Free Enterprise' to go down. People did not do their jobs because they were drunk'; notes that his comments are in contradiction to those made to the House by the then Secretary of State for Transport on 24th July 1987 and the detailed report by Mr Justice Sheen, both of whom failed to mention alcoholism as a cause of the 'Herald of Free Enterprise' tragedy; notes that the Sheen Report made severe criticisms of the management of Townsend Car Ferries Ltd., discounting the honourable Member for Dover's theory that 'extreme left wing trade unionists' were in some way responsible for the disaster; further notes that 6th March 1996 is the ninth anniversary of the disaster, which took place in 1987 (not 1986 as the honourable Member stated); hopes he will make an unreserved and full apology to the bereaved relatives of the victims and to those who survived the disaster; deplores the honourable Member for Dover's appalling and inaccurate attempts to rewrite history; and looks forward to his imminent replacement as a Member of this House by an honourable Member prepared to pay proper respect to those who died, from Dover and elsewhere, in the 'Herald of Free Enterprise' tragedy.

That this House deplores the comments made by the honourable Member for Dover during a House of Commons debate on Ferry Safety on 21st February in which he said, 'Alcoholism caused the 'Herald of Free Enterprise' to go down. People did not do their jobs because they were drunk'; notes...

That this House condemns South West Water for awarding their Managing Director, Mr Bill Fraser, a pay increase of 45 per cent, to raise his salary from ??150,000 to ??217,000; notes that customers of South West Water face the highest bills in the whole country, which have doubled in real terms since privatisation; further notes that South West Water made profits of ??90 million last year, ??30 million of which was paid out to shareholders; and demands that South West Water and the Government take immediate action to prevent further greed and excess by the directors at the expense of water consumers.

That this House condemns South West Water for awarding their Managing Director, Mr Bill Fraser, a pay increase of 45 per cent, to raise his salary from ??150,000 to ??217,000; notes that customers of South West Water face the highest bills in the whole country, which have doubled in real...

That this House supports the Devon based Renaissance Maritime Charitable Trust in its attempts to create a project for young people which will add to their physical and moral development and address the challenges faced by young people today; recognises that the project has the support of experts in the fields of juvenile care, the police and social and probation services; hopes that their project to involve young people in the construction and sailing of a cargo carrying sailing ship on sea voyages around the world will be a success; and believes that this is a cost effective, challenging project which will effectively contribute to the training and development of young people.

That this House supports the Devon based Renaissance Maritime Charitable Trust in its attempts to create a project for young people which will add to their physical and moral development and address the challenges faced by young people today; recognises that the project has the support of experts in the...

That this House condemns the remarks made about the weak and the elderly by Penwith Conservative Research Group from St. Ives in Cornwall in a letter to the Cornishman newspaper on 8th December; believes their remarks that 'the old, the weak and the frail who clog up our hospitals during winter complaining of pneumonia and hypothermia should pay for this privilege', are outrageous and disgraceful; further condemns their comments that 'since this sector of society requires more warmth that the rest of us, it is entirely appropriate to tax this warmth and ensure that they pay taxes in direct proportion to their use of public services'; and calls on the honourable Member for St. Ives and other Conservative Members in the South West to condemn the remarks and to congratulate Labour Members for defeating the Government in the vote on VAT on fuel to keep fuel bills down for all householders, in particular 'the old, the weak and the frail'.

That this House condemns the remarks made about the weak and the elderly by Penwith Conservative Research Group from St. Ives in Cornwall in a letter to the Cornishman newspaper on 8th December; believes their remarks that 'the old, the weak and the frail who clog up our hospitals during...

That this House is concerned that British animals reaching the Continent face welfare standards which, both during transport and at slaughter, can be appallingly low; is further concerned that the majority of calves being exported end up being reared in veal crates, a system which has been illegal in the United Kingdom since 1990 on cruelty grounds; calls on Associated British Ports not to allow the port of Plymouth to be used by vessels carrying live animals to the Continent which will involve animals being transported for more than eight hours without food and rest; urges MT Shipping to stop carrying animals for rearing and slaughter abroad; and calls on Her Majesty's Government to press the United Kingdom's European Union partners to adopt a maximum limit of eight hours on the journeys of animals being transported for slaughter.

That this House is concerned that British animals reaching the Continent face welfare standards which, both during transport and at slaughter, can be appallingly low; is further concerned that the majority of calves being exported end up being reared in veal crates, a system which has been illegal in the...

That this House condemns the Liberal Democrats for their hypocrisy and disunity over hunting and animal welfare issues; notes that on 19 April 1994 a Labour Party motion to Cornwall County Council which said 'this council expresses its total opposition to fox hunting, stag hunting and hare coursing and calls on this Government to legislate nationally to impose a ban on such activities' was passed by 37 votes to 25, despite 11 Liberal Democrat councillors, including the Leader, Councillor Mannell, voting against it; further notes that Liberal Democrat honourable Members opposed a Labour motion to prevent badger-baiting, in parliament on 12th April 1994; recalls that 19 of the 41 Liberal Democrat councillors on Devon County Council opposed a ban on hunting in January 1994; is amazed by these actions, considering that the Liberal Democrats last election manifesto stated that they opposed hunting and badger-baiting; and calls for the Liberal Democrats to clearly state whether or not they oppose hunting, badger-baiting and cruelty to animals.

That this House condemns the Liberal Democrats for their hypocrisy and disunity over hunting and animal welfare issues; notes that on 19 April 1994 a Labour Party motion to Cornwall County Council which said 'this council expresses its total opposition to fox hunting, stag hunting and hare coursing and calls...

That this House expresses its deep concern over the safety of children at outdoor adventure centres; is extremely worried by recent newspaper reports which revealed that the owner of an adventure centre, whose own centre had received an unsatisfactory rating from an independent inspector, was recruited by the British Activity Holidays Association to inspect other outdoor adventure centres; believes the Government's response to the Lyme Bay tragedy was woefully inadequate, as only 100 out of over 3,000 centres will be inspected by the Health and Safety Executive; notes that 22nd March marks the first anniversary of the Lyme Bay canoeing tragedy, in which four young people from Southway School in Plymouth lost their lives; further notes that no new safety regulations have been introduced for the outdoor activities industry since the Lyme Bay tragedy; and calls for measures to be introduced to ensure that the safety of children is not put at risk on outdoor activity holidays.

That this House expresses its deep concern over the safety of children at outdoor adventure centres; is extremely worried by recent newspaper reports which revealed that the owner of an adventure centre, whose own centre had received an unsatisfactory rating from an independent inspector, was recruited by the British Activity...

That this House condemns the Ministry of Defence for having 10,112 of its 71,415 dwellings standing empty; notes that one in every seven Ministry of Defence properties is vacant; further notes that the number of empty properties has increased by 821 since April 1993; notes that in Devon and Cornwall alone 675 Ministry of Defence properties are vacant; believes it is scandalous that so many properties are standing empty when there are thousands of homeless families in desperate need of decent accommodation; and calls on the Ministry of Defence to treat this issue as a matter of urgency and release their vacant properties for rent or purchase by local families.

That this House condemns the Ministry of Defence for having 10,112 of its 71,415 dwellings standing empty; notes that one in every seven Ministry of Defence properties is vacant; further notes that the number of empty properties has increased by 821 since April 1993; notes that in Devon and Cornwall...

That this House extends sincere and deepest sympathy to the families of the four students of Southway Comprehensive School, in Plymouth, Devonport constituency, who lost their lives in the canoeing accident in Lyme Bay, Dorset, on Monday 22nd March; praises the emergency and rescue services who came to the aid of the canoeists and also the staff of Weymouth General Hospital whose expertise and care is greatly appreciated; recognises the efforts of the governors and staff at Southway Comprehensive School and the officers of Devon Education Authority in comforting and helping the parents and pupils who have been affected by this tragedy; requests that the Department of Transport ensures that the Marine Accident Investigation Branch carries out a full inquiry into the causes of the accident; believes that there should be a general review of local education authority codes of practice for outdoor activities and that all commercial sector outdoor centres should be inspected and registered; calls for the Government to review its current proposals to reorganise coastal rescue services; and hopes that all necessary steps be taken to ensure that this sort of tragedy never happens again.

That this House extends sincere and deepest sympathy to the families of the four students of Southway Comprehensive School, in Plymouth, Devonport constituency, who lost their lives in the canoeing accident in Lyme Bay, Dorset, on Monday 22nd March; praises the emergency and rescue services who came to the aid...