Andrew Rosindell MP introduced his private members bill in the House of Commons on 25 July,2012 to cure ' a great constitutional injustice.' It would create a separate queue at Heathrow and other entry points into the UK for citizens of the Realms, Commonwealth countries where The Queen reigns as Sovereign.
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There are 16 Commonwealth Realms: Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Papua New Guinea, St Christopher and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu, Barbados, Grenada, Solomon Islands, St Lucia, The Bahamas and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The Bill will proceed to its Second Reading on 1 March, 2013.
Mr.Rosindell is to be congratulated on his initiative, and his excellent speech explaining the measure. ACM has long supported this concept, and has so informed diplomatic and consular representatives of the UK.
It is not, after all, too much to ask.
…background…
This Bill was introduced to Parliament on 11 July 2012 under the Ten Minute Rule. This allows an MP to make his or her case for a new bill in a speech lasting up to ten minutes. An opposing speech may also be made before the House decides whether or not the bill should be introduced. If the MP is successful the bill is taken to have had its first reading.
This Bill is a Private Member’s Bill. These are often not printed until close to the second reading debate. If the text is not yet available here and you wish to know more about this bill please contact its sponsor, Andrew Rosindell.
The Bill is intended to allow subjects of Her Majesty’s realms to enter the United Kingdom through a dedicated channel at international terminals, to ensure that all points of entry to the United Kingdom at airports, ports and terminals display prominently a portrait of Her Majesty as Head of State, the Union Flag and other national symbols; to rename and re-establish the UK Border Agency as ‘Her Majesty’s Border Police’; and to enhance the Agency’s powers to protect and defend the borders of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.