§ 21. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will give an assurance that he will take action to prevent officials from his Department from issuing statements to the Press and the British Broadcasting Corporation dealing with a Parliamentary Question on the Order Paper, prior to the Question being asked, thus circumventing the rights of Members of Parliament to ask Questions.
§ Mr. ChatawayI have nothing to add to the answer which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to a similar Question from the hon. Member on 11th March.—[Vol. 813, c. 169.]
§ Mr. LewisThat reply was a complete evasion, no doubt unintentional, on the part of the Prime Minister. This is happening in almost every Department almost every day of the week. Will the Minister give an assurance that he and his Department will not issue Press statements and statements to the B.B.C. in the knowledge that the subject is on the Order Paper for answer in the House?
§ Mr. ChatawayI am happy to give the hon. Gentleman the assurance that I certainly would not act in that way to avoid answering in the House. I am glad to note that he does not have any instance to cite from my Department.
§ Mr. William PriceIs the Minister aware that I agree with him? Would it not be a dangerous precedent because, if carried to a logical conclusion, hon. Members on both sides would be pre- 902 vented from talking to the Press about the Questions they table, which would make nonsense of the system?
§ Mr. ChatawayI accept that we should not issue information to the Press which should rightly be given first to the House, but we cannot have a complete embargo on the discussion of anything about which there happens to be a Question on the Order Paper.