§ Mr. Iain MacleodOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Towards the end of my speech last night, when rehearsing possible future legislation, I am reported in column 429 as saying:
It may be that in the end some acceptable form of compulsion will be found.In fact, of course, my case and that from this side of the House, as the Government have always acknowledged, was against compulsion in any form, and the actual words which I used were:… some even less acceptable form of compulsion will be found.In common with all hon. Members, however, I would like to say how much we admire the Official Reporters, particularly perhaps in the hubbub of winding up speeches when they are working against a deadline, but in a matter of such fundamental disagreement between the two sides of the House, I thought it right to make the statement now rather than wait for the corrected version to appear in the Bound Volume.
§ Mr. MendelsonFurther to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. Might it be added to the record that the shorthand reporters could have been led to this interpretation by the speech at the beginning of the debate by the right hon. Member for Mitcham (Mr. R. Carr), who put forward a close, tight legal framework of compulsion?
§ Mr. SpeakerThat is a political addendum rather than a point of order. I will see that the correction is made.
In asking for the correction, I am glad that the right hon. Member for Enfield, West (Mr. Iain Macleod) called attention, as I have done before, to what, I think, is the unanimous feeling of the House, to the way in which we are accurately and well served by the reporters in the Press Gallery. We do not always make it easy for them.