HC Deb 16 July 1971 vol 821 c922

That this House—

  1. (1) while reserving the right to exercise its penal jurisdiction to protect itself, its Members and its officers and all others who may be entitled to its protection so far as may be necessary for the support of its authority and the proper exercise of its functions, agrees with the Select Committee on Parliamentary Privilege in Session 1967–68 in their recommendations that that jurisdiction should be exercised as sparingly as possible and should not normally be invoked in cases where the Member complaining of a contempt has a remedy in the Courts nor so as to defeat any remedy available to any other person in the courts ; and
  2. (2) in deciding whether or not a contempt has been committed, will take into account either the truth of, or a reasonable belief in the truth of, the allegations made, provided that they were made only after reasonable investigations had taken place, were made in the honest and reasonable belief that it was in the public interest to make them, and were made in a manner reasonably appropriate to that public interest.