HC Deb 17 February 1987 vol 110 c775 3.51 pm
Mr. Alan Williams (Swansea, West)

On a point of order arising out of Question Time, Mr. Speaker. I waited, as you instructed last week, Sir. You will recollect, that during Question Time the Prime Minister refused to answer a question on passive entryism and the conduct of Conservative students in honouring Adolf Hitler—

Mr. Speaker

Order. What could possibly be the point of order for me in that?

Mr. Williams

If only you will allow me, to develop my point, Mr. Speaker, I shall come to the point of order.

It is that, in refusing to answer that question, the Prime Minister referred my hon. Friend the Member for Bow and Poplar (Mr. Mikardo) to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The whole House will recollect that. In so doing, is it not possible that the Prime Minister misled my hon. Friend and the House?

Will you confirm, Sir, in your role as Speaker, that as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster the right hon. Member for Chingford (Mr. Tebbit) cannot and should not answer to the House for his role as chairman of the Conservative party, or are we to understand, from what the Prime Minister said today, that that position will be changed in the future? If it is not to be changed, is it not clear that the Prime Minister's answer was merely a device to dodge condemning the outrageous, unpatriotic, disloyal and Fascist conduct of elements within the Conservative party?

Mr. Speaker

I confirm—the whole House knows this—that the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster may answer only for his responsibilities as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.