HC Deb 16 November 1966 vol 736 cc436-8
38 and 39. Mr. William Hamilton

asked the Lord President of the Council (1) if he will take steps to ensure that when any Member of Parliament wishes to reserve a private room for the purpose of granting a television or radio interview he does not have to seek the per-mission of any official or employee of the House;

(2) on whose authority facilities have been provided for television interviews to be given by Ministers on the premises of the Palace of Westminster; and whether he will arrange for an inquiry into the entire problem of photography in the Palace.

Mr. Crossman

Live television and radio interviews are not permitted within the Palace of Westminster under rules made under the authority of Mr. Speaker and the Lord Chancellor. A radio interview may, however, be tape-recorded for use later I will ask the Select Committee on House of Commons (Services) to examine the existing rules relating to photography.

Mr. Hamilton

Will my right hon. Friend not go a little further and say that he will provide facilities inside the House for television interviews when he is introducing his proposals for televising Parliament under the closed-circuitarrangements he has in mind? Does he not agree that it is absurd that when hon. Members have bean asked for a television interview and could go into a room behind locked doors, interfering with nobody, they must go to an official of the House for permission, which is invariably refused?

Mr. Crossman

The House would like to consider very carefully before it changed the rule about television interviews occurring in the House. This partly depends on accommodation, but I would like to reflect further before committing the House or myself on that issue.

Sir Ian Orr-Ewing

Would the right hon. Gentleman bear in mind that those of us who believe that we must come to a television edition of "Today in Parliament"—[An HON. MEMBER: "Oh, no."] desire that hon. Members taking part in our debates should be seen on television and that it should not be the prerogative of the television authorities to take selected hon. Members, who are often "offside" the general thought of their party, and interview them either in a studio or in a private room?

Mr. Crossman

The hon. Gentleman has put forward the very point which needs careful consideration. We should not anticipate the debate on the experiment with closed-circuit television in the Chamber, but whether we have television of our proceedings here and whether an advantage should be given to hon. Members of being televised, not here but for companies outside, seem to be different issues, which we should consider very carefully.

Mr. J. T. Price

The right hon. Gentleman has just said, quite rightly, that the House should not anticipate the debate which will take place. I ask him to go further and face the logic of that declaration—that the House has no right to anticipate the will of Parliament on the question of principle as to whether television comes to this House by installing the machinery of television before we have settled that question in a general debate.

Hon. Members

Answer.

Mr. Crossman

As far as I know, no anticipation has taken place in the installing of any machinery for television in the House.