HC Deb 12 July 1966 vol 731 cc1222-4
Mr. Speaker

I wish to give a Ruling on the matter which was raised by the hon. Member for Eastbourne (Sir C. Taylor) yesterday.

May I begin by making an observation? I believe that privilege is something precious and something which I would hope the House would never invoke lightly, nor hesitate to apply if necessary.

Yesterday, the hon. Member for Eastbourne drew attention to an advertisement in the Sunday Times of 10th July and complained that the terms of the advertisement purported to quote from a speech which he had made in the House and that, taking his words out of context, it linked them with a certain book, named in the advertisement but which the hon. Gentleman did not name.

I sympathise with the hon. Gentleman. I appreciate his distress, to which he made reference in the House yesterday. The right to ensure that speeches made in Parliament are not misrepresented outside Parliament is an essential part of the privilege of freedom of speech. The House has always enjoyed the right to probihit altogether any publication of its debates and proceedings, and, although this right is now continually waived in practice, action by the House may still be taken against persons who have been alleged to have misrepresented its proceedings.

In the present instance, however, the advertisement complained of does not state that the expressions which it attributes to the hon. Gentleman were taken from a speech in the House. In the Adjournment debate of Tuesday, 28th June, in which the hon. Gentleman drew attention to the existence of what he holds to be an obscene book, he did not name the book which is now advertised, nor did he at any time, in the course of his speech, use the word "degrading".

It is difficult, therefore, to uphold the contention that the words complained of constitute either publication or misrepresentation of debates in Parliament. In these circumstances, I cannot find that a prima facie case of privilege arises which would enable me to give the matter priority over the Orders of the Day.

My Ruling this afternoon does not, of course, prevent the hon. Gentleman from taking such other courses as may seem to him to be appropriate.