HC Deb 23 April 1953 vol 514 cc1395-7
42. Mr. Pannell

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is in a position to announce the final membership of the Departmental Com mittee, under the chairmanship of Lord Waverley, which will inquire into the lessons to be learned from the recent flood disaster.

Sir D. Maxwell Fyfe

Yes, Sir. I am glad to be able to announce that invita tions to serve on this committee have been accepted by Mr. G. M. B. Dobson, F.R.S., Reader in Meteorology in the University of Oxford; Mr. R. D. Gwyther, partner in Messrs. Coode and Partners, chartered civil engineers; and Sir Miles Thomas, Chairman, British Overseas Airways Corporation.

These three gentlemen, with the 10 whose names I gave to the House in the course of my speech on 23rd March, and the chairman, Lord Waverley, constitute the full membership of the Departmental Committee.

Mr. Pannell

Has the right hon. and learned Gentleman considered the point that I raised earlier about having repre sentatives of local government on this committee, bearing in mind the changes which ought to be made as a result of our recent experiences?

May I take this opportunity of saying that the Committee, by any standards, is an impressive one, and if I may have the indulgence of the House—[HON. MEMBERS: "No."]—I should like to say that during the Minister's speech on a previous occasion I made a criticism of the Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdon, and I am sorry—

Sir H. Williams

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Is it proper for an hon. Member to make a comment on a repre sentative of Her Majesty in any county?

Mr. Speaker

There was so much noise going on that I could not quite hear the hon. Member for Leeds, West (Mr. Pannell).

Mr. Pannell

It will be noticed, Mr. Speaker, that yesterday, at Question time, after my hon. Friend the Member for Blackburn, East (Mrs. Castle) had already given notice of her intention to raise a matter on the Adjournment of the House, the Prime Minister asked for the indul gence of the House and received it. I cannot see any reason why I should not be given the indulgence of the House to enable me to express regret for a state ment I made about a person in a recent speech. I have received information on that point since, and all I wish to say is that I think the Lord Lieutenant of Huntingdon is an eminently suitable person to serve on the Committee. I should have thought that the desirability of observing those decencies was obvious to everybody except the hon. Member for Croydon, East (Sir H. Williams).

Sir H. Williams

Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. Is it not a rule of the House that we cannot comment either on Her Majesty or on any person in any part of the country who represents Her Majesty?

Mr. Speaker

In general, the hon. Member is right.

Mr. Panned

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I asked a supplementary ques tion about the representatives of local government, and it has not been answered yet.

Mr. Speaker

The hon. Member's observations were interrogatory in parts and he was making statements in others. I could not quite distinguish between them.