§ Mr. Paddy Ashdown (Yeovil)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I should be grateful for your advice. I had understood that a private notice question was a private matter and not for public dissemination. Was it in order for the Labour Front Bench spokesman to make it known in the press last Saturday that he intended to put down a private notice question, and for the fact and perhaps some of the text of the question to be revealed in the Press Association tapes this morning?
§ Mr. Dennis Skinner (Bolsover)He is still wet behind the ears.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. The point of order is for me, not for the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner).
I frequently read in the press at weekends that a question is to be asked about a particular matter in Parliament the following week. I think that that is perfectly in order, but it is not in order to refer to a private notice question which may or may not have been sent in.