§ Mr. Christopher PriceI beg to ask leave to move the Adjournment of the House, under Standing Order No. 9, for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration, namely,
the recent allegation that officials of General Communications Headquarters are and have been involved for some time in serious breaches of security and financial misappropriation over a considerable period of years in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and elsewhere ".The matter is specific. It is urgent because I submit that it is incumbent on the Government to respond in the House when allegations of this nature are made and supported by full and ample documentation, allegations which I understand will be enlarged in a Granada television "World in Action" programme this evening unless it is censored under the Official Secrets Act 1911 by the Independent Broadcasting Authority, which is considering it now.I do not want to use this application to repeat the allegations in detail. Many hon. Members will have read them already. In general they concern extremely serious breaches of security and misappropriation of public money on a considerable scale.
I make only two points on the extreme importance of this issue. The first is that General Communications Headquarters come under one of the few headings of the Foreign Office budget which is not subject to the general scrutiny of the House. There is, therefore" an extra responsibility on the Government to allay public concern in an area from which Parliament has, as it were, traditionally withdrawn.
It is worth remembering that half a million pounds was spent by the previous Labour Government in highly expensive criminal litigation purporting to defend this institution from public scrutiny, and that the Committee of Privileges has considered related issues. It is only by a debate that these issues may be resolved.
The second reason for the extreme importance of this issue is that the Leader 50 of the House told us on Thursday—while making allegations that might have been understood as suggesting that I have a financial connection with one of the newspapers involved—which is quite untrue—that these are old issues which have all been investigated. That now turns out not to be true. Many allegations refer to practices that are still continuing and to the recent inquiry having been nothing less than a farce.
The Government brought a good deal of credit on themselves in the Blunt affair by refusing to cover up and by showing their commitment to open government. A debate on this issue could allow the Government once more to display those virtues to the House and ensure that these allegations do not persist for a moment longer than necessary.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member for Lewisham, West (Mr. Price) gave me notice before 12 noon that he would seek to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he believes should have urgent consideration, namely,
the recent allegation that officials of General Communications Headquarters are and have been involved for some time in serious breaches of security and financial misappropriation over a considerable period of years in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and elsewhere ".As the House knows, under Standing Order No. 9 I am directed to take account of the several factors set out in the Order but to give no reasons for my decision.I listened carefully to what the hon. Gentleman said. In response to his request I read the article to which he referred. However, I have to rule that his submission does not fall within the provisions of the Standing Order. Therefore, I cannot submit his application to the House.
§ Mr. Ioan EvansOn a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Bearing in mind the timetable for tomorrow's business, are we to have a business statement from the Leader of the House?
§ Mr. SpeakerThat is already provided for in the original timetable motion that was carried by the House. Hon. Members will be rather later tomorrow than they thought.