§ 41. Mr. DalyellTo ask the Lord President of the Council if he will set up a Select Committee to consider the investigations into the Lockerbie air disaster.
§ Mr. MacGregorI have no plans to do so. The Lockerbie air disaster is regularly discussed in the House 701 —including Government statements, when appropriate—and I recall that the hon. Member had the Adjournment debate on this very subject just last Monday.
§ Mr. DalyellWhat is a Member of Parliament to do when, having been lucky enough to be given an Adjournment debate by you, Mr. Speaker, and having given a copy of his entire speech to the Foreign Office at 9.45 in the morning, the Minister—in this case the Minister of State, the hon. and learned Member for Grantham (Mr. Hogg)—makes no attempt whatever to answer the deeply serious issues that have been raised? Is it surprising that in respect of foreign affairs this is the most ill-informed House of Commons that I have known in my 30 years here? Or is it possible that the Government are contemplating a repetition of the 1986 strikes on civilian targets in Benghazi and Tripoli? If so, the House of Commons ought to discuss the matter.
§ Mr. MacGregorI do not agree with the hon. Gentleman's premise that the House is ill informed in respect of these matters. Indeed, there have been many Government statements. The hon. Gentleman will know that the generally accepted purpose of Select Committees is the monitoring of individual Departments. It would be possible for one of the existing Select Committees to consider the issue, if it so wished.