§ Mr. Roland Boyes (Houghton and Washington)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. You will recall that during Question Time the hon. Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Holt) said that of the three Members of Parliament who had been to see Mr. Archibald, the regional director of the north-east region of the National Coal Board, two were Conservatives. I should like to correct the record. On 12 July 1985, 15 members of the Labour party went to see Mr. Archibald. In addition, since that date, several Labour Members have been to the offices of Mr. Archibald. Five weeks ago my hon. Friend the Member for Wansbeck (Mr. Thompson), the secretary of the northern group, asked for another meeting with Mr. Archibald to discuss the future of the north-east coalfield, but it was refused. My hon. Friend has since written asking for another meeting. Somebody somewhere is not telling the truth, but that is correct and it is the truth.
§ Mr. SpeakerI think that honour has been satisfied.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder.
§ Mr. Richard Holt (Langbaurgh)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. If you examine Hansard tomorrow, you will see that I said that it was reported to me by the director that only three Members of Parliament had been to visit him at his office. He told me that, and that is what I said. If he has lied to me, I shall be just as aggrieved as is the hon. Member for Houghton and Washington (Mr. Boyes), but I stand by the statement that I made.
Later—
§ Mr. John Ryman (Blyth Valley)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. It arises directly from a supplementary question answered by the Secretary of State for Energy, on question No. 9—[Interruption.] It is a genuine point of order—not a bogus one. The Secretary of State for Energy purported to summarise the recommendation by Peter Bowsher QC in his report, that Bates' colliery in Blyth should not be closed.
§ Mr. SpeakerWith great respect to the hon. Gentleman, I think that this is a continuation of Question Time I cannot adjudicate on matters of that kind. The hon. Gentleman must put a point of order which I can answer. I cannot possibly deal with that matter.
§ Mr. RymanWith great respect to you, Mr. Speaker, you cannot rule on the validity of a point of order until I have put the point of order, which I have not yet done. My point is that the Secretary of State for Energy's summary, no doubt unwittingly, and no doubt he was doing his incompetent best, was wholly inaccurate. I ask you, Mr. Speaker, as a matter of principle and guidance for Back Benchers, for future occasions such as this, to say that if a Minister makes an inaccurate statement about a report there should be an opportunity to correct that impression. On this occasion, the best way to do that would be to place a copy of the report in the Library.
§ Mr. SpeakerThis is not a matter for me, and I must say to the hon. Member that this is a continuation of Question Time. Frequently statements are made to the House with which hon. Members disagree, and I cannot give judgments as to whether the statements are totally accurate, inaccurate or absolutely right.