§ Mr. Bob Cryer (Keighley)I 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 creation of a propaganda unit inside the Ministry of Defence to combat the peace movement, as announced in a front page article by Peter Hennessey in The Times."The issue is important because the Government should not spend taxpayers' money on a political campaign. The Government are fully accountable to this House. That is why I am asking for a debate on this important matter. It is not as though the Ministry of Defence does not already spend a considerable amount of money on public relations. In 1981–82 it spent £586,000, which does not include the cost of the hundred staff employed there on this work. It produced two films at a cost of £150,000 and spent many thousands of pounds on pamphlets, some of which came close to party political propaganda. An example is "Nuclear Defence Key Points". It cost £7,000 and appears to have been available—[Interruption.]
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The hon. Member for Keighley (Mr. Cryer) must not make the speech he would make if I granted his application. He has to justify, as he understands, the urgency and the other factors involved.
§ Mr. CryerI am grateful for your guidance, Mr. Speaker. I point out the importance of this additional factor over and above the existing expenditure of the Ministry of Defence. That makes it more important to hold a debate. There is dubious expenditure which appears to have gone already to the Conservative party or Conservative party front organisations. This is urgent because the Government are accountable to the House for their expenditure. It is especially important in an election year, but at any time, to ensure that the Government do not use taxpayers' money for a blatent political propaganda purpose on behalf of the Conservative party. If the Conservative party wishes to combat the campaign 246 for Nuclear Disarmament and the rising peace movement, it should have the guts to stand up and put its own case and not depend on taxpayers' money for the purpose.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Member for Keighley (Mr. Cryer), gave me notice before 12 o'clock midday that he might seek to make an application under Standing Order No. 9 this afternoon.
The hon. Gentleman asks leave to move the Adjournment of the House for the purpose of discussing a specific and important matter that he thinks should have urgent consideration, namely,
The creation of a propaganda unit inside the Ministry of Defence to campaign against the peace movement",As the House knows, under the revised Standing Order No. 9 I am directed to take account of the several factors set out in the order but to give no reason for my decision.I have given careful consideration to all the representations that have been made, but I have to rule that the hon. Gentleman's submission does not fall within the provisions of the revised Standing Order; therefore, I cannot submit his application to the House.