A letter to the Daily Telegraph which was published on 29th January 2000.

The examples Professor Martin gives of politicians from the Empire being elected to the House of Commons are not really relevant to the present government’s Bill to allow members of the Irish Parliament to sit in the House of Commons (letter, Jan. 28th).

First, the Empire politicians were actually supporters of the British connection and freely took the path of alligiance to the Crown.  Secondly, they mostly were not members of Empire legislatures and the House of Commons at the same time.

This Government’s Disqualifications Bill aims to treat people who, far from having allegiance to the Crown, are among its bitterest enemies.  They are citizens of a foreign republic born in arms against this country.  Moreover, under the Bill they will be enabled to sit in the Irish Republic’s parliament, taking its oath, at the same time as they sit in that of the United Kingdom.

This Bill degrades the Crown, British sovereignty and British self-respect.  Only a hypocrite could take both oaths involved: only a fundamentally anti-British government could propose that they should.