§ Mr. PrenticeOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. My point of order follows on the failure of the Secretary of State for Employment to make a statement on the rail situation today. I wish to ask you, Mr. Speaker, whether some arrangement may be made for such a statement to be made.
I realise that this is not a request that one would normally make in the form of a point of order, but in the last hour or two there have been two extraordinary developments which make this a unique situation. One is that successive statements from the railway authorities have indicated that the very great hardship suffered by thousands of commuters this morning is likely to be very much worse tonight. The authorities have said, for instance, that only a very few trains will be running from London stations. This is an emergency situation requiring a statement from the Government.
The second is the statement in the mid-day edition of the Evening Standard saying that the ultimatum issued by Mr. David Binnie to the Southern Region staff had the full approval of the Cabinet.
1062 If this is so, it seems to us that the Secretary of State is now sabotaging the cooling-off period for which he himself applied a few days ago.
In this situation, ought the right hon. Gentleman not to make a further statement to the House now, or at any rate within the next few hours?
§ The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. Robert Carr)May I respond to that point of order in a helpful way?
I have been in touch with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment. He does not think that it is wise to make a statement at this juncture. [Hon. Members: "Why not?"] It is a matter for Ministers, and always is in these circumstances. However, he is anxious to make a statement to the House at the earliest moment which he considers advisable when he has some definite news to give to the House, and I will keep in touch with him and convey the feeling of hon. Members.
There is absolutely no foundation whatever for the report in the Evening Standard that the right hon. Gentleman mentioned; it is not true.
§ Sir Harmar NichollsOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Why was the right hon. Member for East Ham, North (Mr. Prentice) allowed under the guise of a point of order to make the statement he made? It was clear from the opening words that it was not a point of order. If he wished to raise that matter, he should have asked for permission to put a Private Notice Question. That would have been the proper parliamentary way to put this important matter to the Minister concerned.
§ Mr. PrenticeFurther to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. I made the case to you and the House that there were urgent developments in the last hour or two which meant that the normal procedure was not available. I hope that there will be an early statement. The House is entitled to know whether the expected statement will be made today or tomorrow. In any event, I shall certainly submit a Private Notice Question for tomorrow.
§ Mr. SpeakerWe had better leave it there.