MR PAUL WESTWOOD AND ZIMBABWE

That this House regrets that two years ago Paul Westwood and his family, now resident in the UK, were forced to flee Zimbabwe, despite him being a loyal permanent resident of Zimbabwe; notes that his car business in Zimbabwe was seized by Temba Mliswa, Zimbabwean MP for Hurungwe West in 2009; further notes that Mr Westwood suffered a substantial financial loss because of this and is worried about his former employees, some of whom have been with the firm for decades; is very disturbed that Mr Westwood and his family were allegedly threatened with violence, rape and death to hand over their business; supports Mr Westwood in seeking legal redress in the Zimbabwean courts for the seizure of his business; further notes allegations of corruption against Mr Mliswa; believes that a case has been made that Mr Mliswa improperly used his country's indigenisation law for his own personal gain and that he hid behind his uncle Mr Didymus Mutasa, Minister for Presidential Affairs, to escape proper accountability; is sceptical of Mr Mliswa's apparent claim that he had presidential permission to seize Mr Westwood's business; further notes that President Robert Mugabe has given his office full permission to expose all perpetrators of corruption and commends President Mugabe on his stance; and urges President Mugabe, the Zimbabwean parliament, Zanu-PF and all other relevant authorities in Zimbabwe to investigate Mr Westwood's case and the allegations against Mr Mliswa, punish any guilty parties and provide appropriate and timely compensation to Mr Westwood and his family.