Rushdie slips into Commons

SALMAN RUSHDIE was smuggled into the House of Commons to meet John Smith, the Labour leader, in a high-security operation yesterday, writes Patricia Wynn Davies.

The author and his host spoke for 40 minutes. Later, Mr Smith declared his opposition to the fatwa imposed on Mr Rushdie by the Iranian government, in a move that will increase pressure on John Major to arrange his own meeting with Mr Rushdie.