Unparliamentary Expressions (Hansard, 24 May 1984)

§ Mr. Speaker
Last Tuesday, I undertook to look at the Hansard report of the exchanges concerning the British Leyland closures debate during which it was alleged that an unparliamentary expression had been used. At column 835 the hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr. Atkinson) is reported as having said that the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry was lying. I did not hear that word used. If I had heard it, I should have required its instant withdrawal. I have had an apology from the hon. Member for Tottenham. As I have said before on several occasions, I strongly deprecate any reflection in the Chamber on the honour of hon. Members.

§ Mr. Norman Atkinson (Tottenham)
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I have seen the words printed in the Hansard report of last Tuesday's exchanges, and I withdraw them unreservedly.

§ The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Mr. Norman Tebbit)
Further to the point of order, Mr. Speaker. I am grateful, as I am sure you are, Mr. Speaker, to the hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr. Atkinson). It is always to be regretted when hon. Members from the same part of London who are colleagues, because of their desire to serve their constituents, fall, as he and I occasionally do, into the trap of expressing ourselves too strongly. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for what he has said.

§ Mr. Robert Maclennan (Caithness and Sutherland)
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. The Hansard report for the same day records the word "quisling" as having been used by the hon. Member for Dundee, East (Mr. Wilson). Is that word unparliamentary?

§ Mr. Speaker
I repeat that any words that impute dishonour to any right hon. or hon. Member are unparliamentary and should never be used.

§ Mr. Andrew Faulds (Warley, East)
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. I understand that in this instance you referred to the recorded tape of the proceedings of the House. This is a fairly significant development, because I understand that previously that has not been held to be acceptable in relation to the proceedings of the House. If this new idea has been used — I am all for it, because occasionally the human beings who conduct the Official Report make lapses in their reporting of the House—I should point out that there is an omission from the exchanges during the afternoon to which reference has been made.
Some of my colleagues will remember that I made a comment quite clearly, and my voice is usually fairly audible, in which I put a rhetorical question. I shall have to check with the tape to see whether this is on it. I asked the Secretary of State which gutter the Prime Minister had picked him from. I regret to find that that is not in the record, and I shall have to see that it is put in.
I think that the time has come when the colleagues of the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, both those on the Front Bench and those on the Back Benches, should consider whether they can stomach any further the style, tone and particularly the sound of the right hon. Gentleman.

§ Mr. Speaker
I do not wish to take time from the important debate that is to follow, but this gives me a further opportunity to tell the House and the hon. 1261 Gentleman, who I hope will listen to me, that remarks made from a sedentary position which are not subsequently taken up in debate — the remark of the hon. Member for Tottenham (Mr. Atkinson) was—will not normally be recorded in Hansard as they do not form part of the proceedings of Parliament. The proceedings of Parliament are what is said by hon. Members when they are called to speak by the Chair or, occasionally, if a remark is subsequently taken up in the course of debate. I hope that the House will bear that firmly in mind, and I shall watch with great care to ensure that other sedentary remarks are not recorded, because they are not properly proceedings of the House.

§ Sir Kenneth Lewis (Stamford and Spalding)
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. I hope that the House will recognise that if we were to have a debate on extravagant language we would have another all-night sitting.

§ Mr. Speaker
I think that we had better move on.