§ Mr. Roy Hattersley (Birmingham, Sparkbrook)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I wish to raise a matter concerning the rights of this House and the propriety of the Government's behaviour when laying before it the report of the Boundary Commission for England in the name of the Home Secretary. I ask you, Sir, not for a ruling today but for an investigation and for a ruling when your inquiry is completed.
You will recall that on 25 January the Master of the Rolls dismissed an appeal against a decision of the Divisional court concerning the Boundary Commission's recommendations. However, the Court of Appeal enjoined the commission not to submit its report to the Home Secretary for presentation to this House if an appeal to the House of Lords was lodged within seven days. The enjoinder applied until the petition was determined. That petition was lodged within two days and the appeal was heard on Friday 11 February—last Friday. The appeal was dismissed on that date at 11.50 am. Until that time the enjoinder applied.
The Home Secretary reported in a written answer that he had received the report on the same day, Friday 11 February, although the date on the report is 1 February. The Home Secretary, however, says—and I do not doubt his word—that it was officially received by him last Friday. It was made available to this House at 3.30 yesterday afternoon and to lobby journalists several hours later. Draft orders were made available to the House and to lobby journalists at the same time.
For the proper procedure to have been followed, the report itself—269 pages—the accompanying volume—53 pages of elaborate maps and complicated overlays—and the draft order—83 pages—would have had to be prepared, published and distributed in 72 hours. Because of what that seemed to reveal, I made some inquiries about the printing of that report. It is my information that the material within it was delivered for typesetting to Burrup Mathieson of London and for printing to Lawrence Allen of Weston-super-Mare on 7 and 8 February respectively. In other words, the Home Secretary delivered this information for printing four days before he was officially and legally entitled to receive the report, according to the enjoinder, and that he delivered the information for printing and publication four days before the House of Lords finally made a ruling on the validity of the issue. I draw no conclusions from that whatsoever. I allow the House and the wider public to draw the conclusions themselves.
I simply ask you, Mr. Speaker, to investigate these matters, both in your capacity as Speaker and in your capacity as Chairman of the Boundary Commission, and report to the House at the first opportunity.
§ Mr. SpeakerI am much obliged to the right hon. Gentleman for the way in which he has submitted his point of order, and not least for the fact that he has not asked me to reply today. I will examine the matters that he has raised.