§ Mr. Richard Holt (Langbaurgh)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. During Question Time I asked a supplementary question about discussions with the Gulf states. You ruled at that time that I was not in order. How are we to find out about the contents of discussions with any group of people if we are not allowed to ask questions? 1013 Yesterday, for the first time, British consular staff were able to speak to the people incarcerated in Libya. It may well be—Arab politics being devious, to say the least—that it was because of the discussions in the Gulf states, that the consular official was allowed to visit the British citizens incarcerated in Libya. Was not my question entirely in order?
§ Mr. SpeakerIf I allow supplementary questions to go very wide of the question on the Order Paper, it is unfair to those who have later questions. Question No. 6 dealt specifically with recent discussions held in the Gulf states. The hon. Gentleman mentioned Libya. As far as I know, Libya is not very close to the Gulf states.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. I have nothing more to say on that matter. It is unfair of the hon. Gentleman to seek in this way to ask a question which I disallowed at the time.
§ Mr. Harry Cohen (Leyton)rose—
§ Mr. SpeakerI call Mr. Geoffrey Dickens to introduce his Ten-minute Bill.
§ Mr. CohenFurther to my earlier points of order, Mr. Speaker. In my opinion, it is not part of your role to gag hon. Members.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The hon. Gentleman should be very careful about accusing the Chair of that sort of thing. I seek to be fair to all hon. Members, and I do not seek to gag anyone. It is in that spirit that I say it is reprehensible for an hon. Member to seek to smear any other hon. Member of the House by drawing attention to a newspaper article about which I know absolutely nothing and on which I cannot rule.