Millennium Dome (Hansard, 28 May 2002)

§ Lord Strathclyde
My Lords, with the leave of the House, I rise to ask the noble and learned Lord the Leader of the House to give his reasons for having rejected a Private Notice Question from my noble friend Lady Blatch on the question of the Dome. For the past three days or so, the media have been full of speculation about the future of the Dome. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, is a Member of this House; as we have heard, the House of Commons is not sitting. I wonder if the noble and learned Lord the Leader of the House could give an assurance that, before we rise for the Jubilee weekend, he will ask his noble and learned friend Lord Falconer of Thoroton to come to the House to give us a Statement on the current position so that it can be fully debated and we can go away for that recess in the full knowledge of what is intended for the Greenwich peninsula.

§ The Lord Privy Seal (Lord Williams of Mostyn)
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, did indicate to me that he would be asking whether there would be a Statement to Parliament after the deal has been signed. No deal has been signed; negotiations continue. I think that your Lordships will agree that the time to make a Statement to the House is once the deal has been signed. The Government will indeed make a Statement to the House as soon as a deal has been signed. Lacking the gift of prophecy, I cannot say anything about this week.

§ Baroness Blatch
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble and learned Lord for his Answer to my noble friend Lord Strathclyde. However, as most noble Lords know, the noble and learned Lord, 1150 Lord Falconer, gave freely of his time to television and radio throughout the weekend to discuss details of these negotiations. He also said that he would come to Parliament. How does that square with the comments that the noble and learned Lord has just made?

§ Lord Williams of Mostyn
My Lords, it is perfectly consistent, but I repeat myself: no deal has been signed. I repeat: the time to make a Statement is once the deal has been signed; and I repeat: we shall make a Statement when the deal has been signed.

§ Lord Rotherwick
My Lords, bearing in mind that we have had numerous Dome deals, none of which has come to fruition, might not this be another deal that will go by the way? In the light of that, would it not be more sensible if the noble and learned Lord we are talking about could come and suppress our worries about the wonderful Greenwich peninsula?

§ Lord Williams of Mostyn
My Lords, the noble and learned Lord we are talking about knows perfectly well, as every schoolboy knows, that a deal which is not completed is not a deal.

§ Lord Stoddart of Swindon
My Lords, will the—

§ Lord Tebbit
My Lords, why was the noble and learned Lord—

§ Lord Stoddart of Swindon
This side. Noble Lords: Which side?

§ Lord Stoddart of Swindon
This corner then. Will the Leader of the House simply tell us whether the deal will be irrevocable once it has been signed? If it is irrevocable, what is the point of reporting to Parliament, as Parliament will not be able to do anything about the deal anyway?

§ Lord Williams of Mostyn
My Lords, all deals which are contractually binding are just that—contractually binding. They can be unpicked only if the parties agree. If the parties do not agree, there are legal sanctions. The point which I would have thought is self-evident is that, if one is doing a deal, one tries to do the very best one can without disclosing all one's thoughts. I should have thought that that was commercial common sense and prudence.

§ Lord Tebbit
My Lords, will the noble and learned Lord explain why the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, was so free of his time in answering journalists' questions on television but is so shy of giving any of his time to come here and answer the precisely similar questions of Members of this House?

§ Lord Williams of Mostyn
My Lords, not being a television watcher or weekend radio listener, I do not know exactly what was said. However, I would assume that my noble and learned friend Lord Falconer was answering questions about the Dome generally. He 1151 would not have been in a position to give details of the deal. If I am wrong about that and your Lordships are able to point to a single syllable where the noble and learned Lord we are talking about disclosed details of the deal, I would be very happy to read it.

Lord Renton
My Lords, bearing in mind that this is a matter of public interest in which a great deal of public finance is involved, is it not right that Members of this House and those of another place should have the right to influence the Government's attitude in the negotiations?

§ Lord Williams of Mostyn
My Lords, the one thing that is not lacking in this context is advice from your Lordships or from the other House.

§ Lord Peyton of Yeovil
My Lords, the noble and learned Lord is always so very helpful and courteous to the House. Perhaps he will extend the huge benefit of promising us two or three minutes of the time of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer.

§ Lord Williams of Mostyn
My Lords, I have already done so three times. However, I shall try again. My familiarity with the English language is limited, of course, so perhaps I should read it out: No deal has been signed [full stop] The time to make a Statement to the House is once the deal is signed [full stop] The Government will make a Statement to the House as soon as a deal is signed [full stop]". No further holes in the Dome will be dug.

§ Lord Peyton of Yeovil
My Lords, I omitted from my question the words, "this week, please."

§ Lord Williams of Mostyn
My Lords, again, I do not control much in your Lordships' House, and the calendar is not among the items that I do control. This week is ticking to its inevitable demise. I do not know—I cannot say—when the deal will be signed. If your Lordships are of the view that the House should be recalled, I shall mention it to the Chief Whip.

§ Lord Mackie of Benshie
My Lords, perhaps the noble and learned Lord will comment on past deals. In view of the record on past deals, how can he be so sure that this deal will be signed?

§ Lord Williams of Mostyn
My Lords, I am not sure. The one thing about which I am sure is that I am not sure about the Dome.