§ 41. Mr. MackinlayTo ask the Lord President of the Council what representations he has had from people and bodies outside the House about the length of this summer's Adjournment.
§ Mr. NewtonI have received several letters from members of the public commenting on the length of this summer's Adjournment. I understand that a number are received every year.
§ Mr. MackinlayDoes the Leader of the House accept that many hon. Members feel acutely embarrassed about the inordinately excessive summer recess and consider that it makes a farce of our parliamentary role of checking the Executive? For instance, during the summer recess many things were sneaked through by the Government, which were referred to in the press but not on the Floor of the House. That is indefensible. Two examples are the unexplained dismissal by the Prime Minister of a senior civil servant, Peter Kemp, and the gross overspending by the Ministry of Defence on HMS Fort Victoria, commonly known as HMS De Lorean.
§ Mr. NewtonThe hon. Gentleman is a new colleague of mine in Essex, though I shall not call even him Essex man in this context. We have become familiar with the rather abrasive way in which he puts his questions and I do not wish to be taken to accept his suggestion, but he might perhaps have a word with his hon. Friends who have persistently pressed my predecessors over the years for Parliament to rise earlier in the summer so that they can have a reasonable holiday with their children.