Conduct Of The Minister For Sport

EDM number 1208 in 1989-90, proposed by Tom Pendry on 28/06/1990.

That this House regrets the comments made in the House by the honourable Member for Lewisham East, the Minister for Sport, on 27th June, (Official Report, column 302) that those deported from Italy for alleged hooliganism 'comprise football's effluent tendency', especially given that many of those deported were alnost certainly innocent, and included English holidaymakers with no connection with the World Cup tournament; further regrets the refusal of the Minister to meet with representatives of the Football Supporters Association who are in Italy in an official capacity issuing advice, information and help to all genuine supporters and thus in a unique position to represent the views of the majority of genuine fans; notes that in a written answer given to the honourable Member for Stalybridge and Hyde on 26th June, the Minister maintained that he thought it unnecessary to seek information from the Football Supporters Association for use in assessing supporters' behaviour at the World Cup; and calls on the Minister to desist from making potentially slanderous remarks about innocent supporters until he has conducted a thorough inquiry and is in possession of the full facts, and to request as a matter of urgency evidence from the Football Supporters Association for use in that inquiry.

This motion has been signed by a total of 36 MPs.