Thank you, Sir Nicholas. I apologise to the Chamber for being late. As you said, I had a meeting with the Under-Secretary of State with responsibility for disabled people and a constituent of mine who runs a charity for the disabled in Lancashire. I travelled down especially for the meeting, and I felt that it was important that I kept it. However, as chair of the all-party AIDS group, it is also important that I make a contribution to this debate.

I shall keep my remarks fairly short. Last year, I made a visit to Malawi, funded by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association scholarship scheme, in order to investigate AIDS and vulnerable children. Initially, I spent three days in Lilongwe, meeting Government officials and NGO personnel, to learn about the problem in Malawi, which is one of the poorest countries in the world and has an infection rate of about 14 per cent. Furthermore, it has only a handful of doctors and nurses and is really struggling to provide the sort of care needed. Certainly, the three days that I spent in Lilongwe visiting the AIDS centre in the main hospital, meeting Ministers and holding many discussions brought home to me the scale of the problem in Malawi.

The last three days of my visit were spent in Mulanje, in southern Malawi, and I had the privilege to see work being done by a charity called Friends of Mulanje Orphans, which is based in my constituency and was set up by Mary Woodworth, who comes from Mulanje and lives in Walmer Bridge in my patch. She returned to Malawi eight years ago for her father's funeral and saw large numbers of orphans on the streets. That is unusual in Africa, where traditionally if children are orphaned, they are cared for by their extended family. It was probably a sign of the scale of poverty and the number of orphans that extended families could no longer care for them. Mary returned to Lancashire and set up a charity. When I visited, last year, it probably cared for about 5,000 orphans through 12 or 13 centres, but it has since expanded.

The charity does not use the orphanage model. It works with the extended family and provides day centres, so that when children return from school, they get a proper meal and are looked after in the afternoon. Furthermore, it provides clothing and books for them and pays school fees. The charity works with the families, so that at night the children return to their grandparents, siblings or uncles and aunts and live with their family. Very small, pre-school children spend the day at children's nursery-type centres. This seems to work. The charity has also set up everything from mechanics to dress-making centres and a range of other things. Furthermore, it grows much of its own food, although a court case is currently under way—a landowner is arguing that the land used to grow the food belongs to them. That argument is ongoing.

What struck me about that model for supporting orphans in Malawi is that it went with the grain of Malawian society by supporting the extended family. We should follow that model wherever possible. However, sometimes orphanages are the only option. Several years ago, I visited the SOS Children's village in Botswana, which uses a different model arranged around a number of families with a housemother and children of both sexes and a range of ages. It tries to recreate a home environment, with a mother figure and siblings or children of a variety of ages. In each village, there will be a school and various community facilities. It tries to reproduce, as much as possible, what a child would expect in a normal family.

I point to that contrast, because about six or seven years ago, I visited an orphanage in Africa. I shall not say where it was, because it might have improved, and I do not want to criticise the charity, because it was working hard. The most distressing experience that I have ever had was visiting that orphanage, where children of all ages were kept in groups of 20 or 30 in dormitories or rooms with cots. That was before antiretrovirals—ARVs—were generally available. In each group of children, three or four were visibly ill, and they were looked after by carers. When I walked into a room of three-year-olds, all the children wanted was to be picked up and hugged. Food was provided, the place was clean and the workers were doing their best, but it was not a model place in which to bring up orphans. The contrast between that and the SOS orphanage was stark. An important lesson for me was seeing how Malawi supports its extended families. One of the reasons why I am so grateful for being a Member of Parliament is that it has given me the opportunity to learn and see how other countries handle such issues. It has shown me that things can be done well and not so well. When we give support to orphans and vulnerable children, we must consider carefully the model of care that is used. In the discussions that I have had with DFID officials in different countries in Africa, it is clear that that message has been learned.

I should like to pay tribute to FOMO, which is based in my constituency. It has virtually no paid staff, but manages to raise money, mostly from my part of Lancashire, to support 5,000-plus orphans many thousands of miles away. That shows us the type of work that can be done by a small charity.

I know that you do not want me to speak for too long, Sir Nicholas, so I shall be brief. The all-party group is carrying out an inquiry into access to medicines, and its report will be published in a few weeks' time. We recently visited Geneva and had meetings with a range of organisations, including UNAIDS, the World Health Organisation and the World Trade Organisation. We considered some of the issues that have crystallised around access to ARVs. The first range of adult drugs for first-line treatments are now relatively cheap and can probably be delivered to most parts of the world at a reasonable price. However, after people have been on those drugs for a number of years, they need to move on to the second round of drugs, which are expensive and tied in with patents—as a way for the big drug companies to protect themselves. Over the next few years, the real challenge for the developing world will be making available that second round of drugs. There is talk of patent pools, which DFID is promoting.

As for children with AIDS, the problem is the shortage of paediatric formulae. Many children end up having a mixture of drugs in liquid forms. We must encourage companies to produce a range of single tablets with a mixture of drugs in each one for various sizes of children. That is not cost-effective for the rich part of the world because relatively few children have AIDS. However, in the developing world, many, many children are HIV-positive and need such treatment. To get drug companies to develop those small pills will be very difficult. Some of the most efficient producers of pills are in India. They are generic producers rather than producers that work with the traditional first-world pharmaceutical companies. If we can encourage the large companies to make available the patents, and then work through international organisations to ensure that the generic producers use all their efficiencies to produce a range of ARV pills that can be used for children, that would bring things on a great deal.

Mindful of your earlier words to me, Sir Nicholas, I will end my contribution. I have made my two main points, so I will now listen with interest to the Minister.

Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make my maiden speech, and to speak up for the people of Dover and of Deal. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Dartford (Gareth Johnson) on his excellent maiden speech, and on his passionate and trenchant defence of the Dartford crossing. He and I share an interest in, and a concern about, the selling off of our nation's assets. I also congratulate Members on both sides of the House who have made their maiden speeches today. The list has grown too long for me to name all those Members, but all their speeches were excellent, and I believe that they all have a great future in this place.

It is traditional to congratulate and celebrate one's predecessor in the constituency. I pay great tribute to Gwyn Prosser, who was an excellent hard-working Member of Parliament, well known by Labour Members. He was also a very loyal and diligent Member of Parliament, who took up the causes and concerns of the people of Dover and Deal. When what I used to think were simple problems, easily solved, suddenly landed in my lap, I found that they were less simple and less easily solved than might have seemed the case outside this great and august House. He was a very fine Member of Parliament, and he will be a hard act to follow.

I understand that it is also traditional to talk about one's constituency and its history. We in Dover are, of course, used to visitors. One of our earliest recorded visits was in 55 BC by Julius Caesar; he caught an early ferry from France and came to Dover. In those days border security was quite good-would that were still the case-and he was unable to make a landing at Dover because warlike tribesmen were going to see him off. Instead he went down the coast a few miles-to Deal and Walmer, it is said-where he landed and did the customary European thing in those days: proceeded with an invasion. Having made some progress with his invasion, he then dispatched a communiqué back to Rome. This is what he said:

"By far the most civilised inhabitants are those living in Kent, a purely maritime district".

Well, Dover maritime is very maritime-and, we like to think, very, very civilised. While we are disappointed that Julius Caesar made war upon us, we forgive him a bit because of his very communautaire approach in talking so nicely about us to his capital city.

European relations have continued in this vein ever since, in war and in peace. In Napoleonic times the channel fleet was stationed off the coast of Deal. The long historical link between Deal and the Royal Marines was forged, too. As Members will know, we are celebrating the 70th anniversary of Operation Dynamo, the glorious retreat from Dunkirk. Our white cliffs came to symbolise a nation's struggle to survive-a nation's struggle for sovereignty and the values of liberty, democracy and freedom that our nation upholds. As Member of Parliament for Dover, I know that I carry a heavy responsibility to uphold those vital values.

Dover paid a heavy price for being in Hellfire Corner. We lost a beautiful regency town, and we are still waiting for regeneration to this day. I have said to my electors that my hope is that with investment, jobs and money, the gateway to England can once again become a jewel in the crown of our nation. This is my hope. I want it to be my life's work, and I hope we will achieve it and succeed.

Other things come out of our history of being the gateway to England and the border of our nation. The first of them is concern: concern that the previous Government conceived a plan to sack our experienced immigration officers. We are concerned because we do not want porous borders, nor do we want more human trafficking, more gun running or more drug smuggling. We want to ensure that we have proper border security and national security. We want to ensure that the "jungle" in Calais is dealt with, not simply because we are concerned about the number of people there, but because we are concerned about the children there, who are living in terrible conditions. We want them to be looked after properly in a proper European settled way. We must co-operate with our friends, allies and community partners to get a lasting solution to this concern that many hold.

The previous Government also conceived a plan to sell off our port. We do not want our nation's borders to be sold. The people of Dover are trenchantly opposed to that idea. I come here planning to do all in my power to find a better way forward than simply to sell it off at the bottom of the market, possibly to a foreign power. That would be the wrong thing to do for our nation's security.

The people of Dover also want to have a proper hospital back in Dover. The previous Government offered us a polyclinic, having run down our hospital. We say we want a proper hospital, with care beds and doctor-led emergency services. These things are important to us because the nearest acute hospitals are 40 minutes down the road by car and four hours by public transport. That is bad for old people, and those who are badly off and cannot afford a car and do not have access to one. We want a fair share of health care; we feel that is very important.

People in Dover have also told me time and again, "When you come to the House, Charlie, tell them we want a George cross, too." That might be a bit much to ask, but our area paid a heavy price in the war, and people might compare the price we paid with the price that Malta paid. This case should be examined, and I hope that it will be, in due course.

Finally, I should say that the liberty of the subject is one of the most important calls on any Member of Parliament, and as the Member of Parliament for Dover, I especially feel that responsibility, given my constituency's history in defending our nation's freedom and liberty. The honouring of the military covenant is also important to people in Dover and Deal. I therefore bring to the House's attention the case of Major Bill Shaw, MBE. He is a man who was commissioned from the ranks. He was a regimental sergeant major and was awarded an MBE for his excellent services to the armed forces. He was promoted to the rank of major and subsequently retired having served in Bosnia and Iraq, having been decorated and having instructed at Sandhurst.

He has served our country well, but today he finds himself in an Afghan jail facing a two-year sentence as a result of allegations of "corruption"; there seems to have been a misunderstanding as to what constitutes corruption and what constitutes a payment to release one's car from the pound. I am concerned about this matter, as is his family, and we want to see that justice is done. There are questions as to whether due procedure was followed, and whether he received justice. I ask my colleagues on the Front Bench to examine this case and see what can be done for this man. He defended us for most of his life, and it is therefore right that we should defend him in his hour of need and ensure that his case is properly looked at and his interests properly defended by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

I thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for giving me this opportunity to make my maiden speech; I am very grateful.

On 1 August 1979, Her Majesty the Queen Mother was installed as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, in succession to Sir Robert Menzies. As I have the honour to represent the constituency that contains two of the original cinque ports—Hythe and Romney—I am grateful for the opportunity to say a few words about the enormous contribution that the Queen Mother made to our part of the realm in her capacity as Lord Warden.

The origin of the Confederation of the Cinque Ports goes back at least to the reign of King Edward the Confessor, and the office of Lord Warden is almost as ancient. The Lord Warden has many privileges: as the letters patent record, the Lord Warden is entitled, among other things, to

"all manner of wrecks of the sea, jetsam, flotsam and lagen goods merchandises and effects whatsoever which at any time or times . . . shall be cast away, wrecked or lost."

I have no knowledge of the extent, if any, to which the Queen Mother claimed the right to any of those privileges during her long term of office as Lord Warden, but she certainly took her duties most seriously.

Those duties were many and various. They included the responsibility of ensuring that beached whales were given a proper burial, and that at least one tooth from each beached whale was extracted and sent to the natural history museum, so that the whale could be properly identified. The House will understand that the duty was not one that the Lord Warden was required to carry out personally, but I know that the Queen Mother always took a keen interest in the results of the researches of the natural history museum.

The Queen Mother came every year to Walmer castle, and she always took the opportunities offered by her visits to east Kent to visit schools and carry out all sorts of other responsibilities and duties. Those included the opening of community halls, such as the one in Lydd in my constituency, which she opened in her 94th year. On every occasion, she lit up with her presence the whole of the gathering involved. As many of my constituents have said, she was just as much at home with children as with people of her own age.

My abiding memory of the Queen Mother is of her officiating at the unveiling of the battle of Britain memorial. That took place on the top of the cliffs at Capel on the boundary of my constituency. It was a dreadful day. The rain came down in sheets and most of us felt that the wind was hurricane force at least. We all huddled in the rather precarious protection of tents but the Queen Mother, apparently oblivious to the weather, went from one tent to another, radiating charm, making sure that she met everyone and illuminating the greyest of days with the magic of her personality. She will be much missed throughout the realm, and especially in east Kent. She will always be remembered.

The Bill raises a subject of considerable interest to my constituents. Dover has the great advantage that we are always making new discoveries in the form of rare coins or rare pieces of Roman antiquity. In Dover recently, we discovered a bronze age ship that extends Dover's history back through some 4,000 years. When the House contemplates the millennium celebrations for the year 2000, we in Dover feel that the House has not got a true perspective. Dover has a much longer historical perspective.

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point. In the next few minutes, I shall comment on the way in which the Government have gone on the Internet. I am sure that hon. Members would like to have the facility that the hon. Gentleman mentions. Many of my constituents who come to me with Child Support Agency problems have not yet bought the modem, although many of them have home computers. It would have helped if

When considering how to direct more money into science research, will my hon. Friend consider promoting the information super-highway in the way that he did this morning at the excellent conference that he launched? Will he also consider the fact that Britain leads in that area of technology? Will he accept my congratulations on the Government making more information available on a world-wide web server called "open.gov"? Will he also congratulate Walmer school in my constituency which went on to the information super-highway this morning and connected with a school in the United States of America?

This debate is about Government policies and their effect on London and the south-east. It gives me a great sense of déjà vu to follow the hon. Member for Thurrock (Mr. Mackinlay). He and I last debated together some 18 years back in the council chamber of Kingston upon Thames. I could not accept his views then and I am afraid that I cannot do so now. But I have always enjoyed his conversation, especially afterwards.

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Thanet, North (Mr. Gale) on having secured this debate on such an important subject. I am delighted to see my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement in his place, as well as my hon. Friends the Members for Hastings and Rye (Mrs. Lait), for Dover (Mr. Shaw) and for Canterbury (Mr. Brazier). I appreciate the importance which they all attach to the debate, and I know that my hon. Friends the Members for Faversham (Mr. Moate) and for Gravesham (Mr. Arnold) are also concerned.

I am glad to have the opportunity to take part in this debate, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall) for providing the occasion. For reasons which will emerge, we will have a special interest in the subject which I wish to raise.

Will the hon. Gentleman remember the importance of Walmer Crescent, since its architectural value is recognised throughout Europe?

I have the honour to represent a coastal constituency, and I have seen at first hand over the past few

Since this is my first intervention in a debate I must ask for the indulgence of the House. If in a slightly highly charged debate my remarks assume a rather partisan tinge I hope it will be attributed to inexperience and not to malice.

Will my hon. Friend look at this again? Is he aware that villagers have to go over two miles to buy stamps? They have to go to Lower Walmer. If this were provided in the village, not only would it be a great help to the people of Kingsdown but to the many people who stay at the holiday camp in the spring and summer that would make use of it at weekends. Will my hon. Friend look at the matter again?

My Lords, to the great good fortune of the people of my native county of Kent, Her Majesty was Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports and Constable of Dover Castle from 1978, a historic office whose origins, as everyone will know, lay in the need to reorganise the defence of the south-east coast of England against raiders or even invaders from the Continent. Among her predecessors were the first Duke of Wellington, Sir Winston Churchill and Sir Robert Menzies. Her Majesty's war years surely made her a worthy successor in that role.

The official residence of the Lord Warden is Walmer Castle, which is not normally inhabited. But year after year, Her Majesty and her indomitable household moved into the castle in July bringing with them from London everything necessary for life and comfort. I was told that it included a field cooker.

The castle came to life. Her Majesty entertained the mayors and officials of the cinque ports and a wide range of people from East Kent and Sussex. Those receptions and dinner parties were, as may be imagined, marvellous occasions, flowing in a continuous sequence and enlivened by Her Majesty's charm and enthusiasm and indefatigability. In addition to that entertaining, she fitted in visits in the neighbourhood, all of them a resounding success and much welcomed.

Fortunately, there are two potentially lasting things to commemorate those happy years and visits. The first is the garden at Walmer Castle, into the creation of which Queen Elizabeth put much time and thought. The second is to be found on the top of the cliffs between Folkestone and Dover; the Battle of Britain Memorial. That was established under Her Majesty's patronage and is much due to Her Majesty's support and generosity. She attended the opening ceremony and it was very moving to see her walking among and talking to the representatives of the few. They were men in their twenties in 1940—and that gracious lady then just 40 years old herself carrying the responsibility of being with the King, the head of our nation at that critical time.

Her Majesty's example never failed. She was a true Lord Warden of our coastline, of our country and of our people.

My Lords, did the Minister answer the question about overloading a very small village such as Aldington? Is it too late to consider using the former barracks at Walmer? They would serve the purpose just as well, and there would be no disturbance to a small, rather remote population?