§ Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours (Workington)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I should like to raise the matter of the revelations about MI5 in the newspapers last week. At the beginning of this point of order I should like to make it clear that I do not intend to veer into areas in which you may want to rule me out of order, in so far as I may refer to matters specifically subject to the injunction.
§ Mr. SpeakerOrder. Before we progress too far in this matter I must state that, initially, I cannot see that this has anything to do with me.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursThere have been three successive hearings in the courts and the Attorney-General has succeeded in taking out injunctions against The Guardian and The Observer to prevent them from repeating allegations made in an article in The Observer on 22 June. That article was written by David Leigh and Paul Lashmar.
I have been informed—as all other hon. Members would have been informed if they had read the newspapers at the weekend—that last week an Australian journal— the Australian Financial Review—referred to M15 activities at international conferences and in London. I have also learnt that the CBS, in a national radio programme in Sydney, made a statement in which Mr. Richard Hall discussed certain aspects of Harold Wilson's premiership.
This is a ridiculous situation. We are unable to discuss the buggings, yet the Australians can discuss the matter in their Parliament. They are free to discuss matters that are subject to court proceedings in this country, yet we are not allowed to discuss those matters here. Is it not time that the sub judice rule was examined as it relates to this House? Surely hon. Members should be unshackled and free to debate issues which are freely debated in other Parliaments — in this case, the Australian Parliament, which is a Commonwealth country?
I do not expect, Mr. Speaker, that you, will be able to rule precisely today. However, these are serious matters. It is fundamentally wrong that I, as a Back-Bench Member, and my hon. Friends cannot ask questions about issues relating to the activities of MI5 in this country, when politicians in the Australian Parliament are free to raise such matters and ask questions and receive answers in their Parliament. A distinction must be made, and we must examine these matters carefully.
§ Mr. SpeakerThe hon. Gentleman must appreciate that I am not responsible for anything that happens in the Australian Parliament. He may be correct in his submission, but that is not a matter of order; it is a matter for debate. If the hon. Gentleman will try his luck in an Adjournment debate, I shall try to be present to hear him.