Questions to Ministers (Hansard, 11 March 1985)

§ Mr. Dick Douglas (Dunfermline, West)
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. You will have heard, in answer to a supplementary question put by me, the Secretary of State for Energy making a statement about the happenings today at Comrie colliery in Fife. He said, if I have got it right——

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will not persist in that line, because that is not a question that I can answer. I cannot answer for the Secretary of State.

§ Mr. Douglas
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. It is my constituency, and in my humble view the Secretary of State——

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The hon. Gentleman knows very well that I cannot deal with questions that emanate from answers that he may have received. It is not a point of order for me by any stretch of the imagination. There are numerous other ways in which the hon. Gentleman can pursue matters such as this. I cannot allow him——

§ Mr. Douglas
rose——

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. There is an important Opposition day debate to follow this, in which a large number of Labour Members wish to speak. The hon. Gentleman is only taking time from them.

§ Mr. Douglas
rose——

§ Mr. Speaker
Unless this is a point or order that I can answer, I am not prepared to allow it.

§ Mr. Douglas
Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. What do hon. Members do when, to their own knowledge, the Secretary of State is lying?

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I must ask the hon. Gentleman to withdraw that.

§ Mr. Douglas
I will put it another way. What if the House——

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I do not want it put another way. The hon. Member must withdraw the word and then put his point of order in another way.

§ Mr. Douglas
I withdraw the word "lying". When the Secretary of State——

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The hon. Gentleman is very experienced. Will he please withdraw the word "lying"—[HON. MEMBERS: "He did".]—and then rephrase his question?

§ Mr. Douglas
With respect, Mr. Speaker, I have withdrawn the word "lying". What do hon. Members do when the Secretary of State mendaciously deceives the House, when hon. Members have it in their knowledge what happened? What do we do when the Secretary of State tells the House something that is completely untrue, on the basis of information that he could get only from the NCB in Scotland? If we know that that is the quality of information that he is accepting, he should sack the director in Scotland.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. Did I hear that word again? Did I hear the hon. Gentleman say that the Secretary of State was lying?

§ Mr. Douglas
Yes. I apologise to you, Mr. Speaker.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. I want the word withdrawn, please. We cannot have it.

§ Mr. Douglas
I apologise and withdraw the word, but something has to be done about the quality of information that the Secretary of State accepts.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. The hon. Gentleman knows that there are numerous ways in which matters of this kind can be raised. I understand his strong feeling, but there are many ways in which he can raise these matters.