MR FAUJA SINGH'S KIRPAN

EDM number 1327 in 2003-04, proposed by Rob Marris on 09/06/2004.

That this House is concerned to note that the renowned nonagenarian runner, Mr Fauja Singh, who completed this year's London Marathon, was refused entry to a consequent ceremony at the British Airways London Eye when he understandably refused to remove his kirpan, the ceremonial knife carried by all practising Sikhs, because the operators of the London Eye regard a kirpan as a weapon, and thus a security hazard, despite the fact that the Offensive Weapons Act 1996, the Crime Act 1951 and the Criminal Justice Act 1988, all exempt, albeit on public rather than private property, items which have religious significance; and urges those operators to work with the Sikh community to draw up suitable guidelines, similar to those long since adopted in Wolverhampton schools, allowing kirpans to be carried by Sikhs when travelling on the London Eye.

This motion has been signed by a total of 24 MPs.