§ 4.11pm
§ Mr. Cecil Franks (Barrow and Furness)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I draw to your attention, and to the attention of the House, the fact that this afternoon, in the Manchester Crown court, criminal charges which had been laid against Mr. Kevin Taylor were withdrawn at the request of the prose—cution, who accepted that the Greater Manchester police had misled the judge and the jury during the course of the four-and-a-half-months trial. Mr. Taylor was a friend of a certain Mr. Stalker. Therefore, I request that you, Mr. Speaker, consider whether this is a fit and proper subject to be debated in the House at an early date.
§ Mr. SpeakerI am surprised that the hon. Member did not raise that issue with the Leader of the House, as he has the authority to decide whether it should be debated.
§ Mr. Edward Leigh (Gainsborough and Horncastle)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I am sure that you will agree that we are here to represent our constituents and not special interest groups, especially when we serve on a Standing Committee. I do not know whether you are aware that a meeting was held before the Committee stage of the National Health Service and Community Care Bill started at which the Confederation of Health Service Employees decided which Labour Member should represent that union on the Standing Committee. The hon. Member for Falkirk, West (Mr. Canavan), who is here today, is complaining that the hon. Member for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours) was picked instead of him to represent the union. I wonder whether the hon. Member for Workington will be partial in Committee as he is sponsored by the union and apparently it pays his election expenses.
§ Mr. SpeakerThose are not matters for me. As long as it is declared in the Register of Members' Interests it is perfectly legitimate to represent the interests of a union.
§ Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours (Workington)Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. As my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Heffer) said the other day, Members of Parliament who are sponsored by trade unions receive nothing from the union. At election time a portion of their election expenses is paid to the constituency party and not to the hon. Member.
§ Mr. SpeakerWe cannot have a debate on such matters now.