HC Deb 15 December 1994 vol 251 cc1081-2
Mr. David Harris (St. Ives)

On a point of order, Madam Speaker. I wish to refer to early-day motion 284 in the name of the hon. Member for Plymouth, Devonport (Mr. Jamieson), and I have given the hon. Gentleman notice of my intention to do so.

A week ago The Cornishman newspaper published a letter, which the editor admitted to me he knew to be a spoof, from an organisation purporting to be the Penwith Conservative research group. No such group exists. The letter was damaging to the Conservative party when taken at face value, and it made outrageous statements.

It came to my notice that the hon. Member for Devonport intended to table the early-day motion, and it duly appeared on the Order Paper. Before the hon. Gentleman did so, I met him on two occasions and put him in the picture. I told him that the letter was a spoof, that the organisation did not exist, that the writer of the letter was not a Conservative and that his outrageous views could not be attributed in any way to the Conservative party which, of course, was the impression left with the many people who rang my office. I gave the hon. Gentleman a press release issued by my association agent which made the position clear, and I also alerted the Clerks to the situation.

Subsequently, the hon. Member for Devonport saw fit to table the early-day motion which gives credence to that scandalous suggestion, despite my having told him the background to the situation. Could you say something, Madam Speaker, about an hon. Member acting in such a way in using the facilities afforded to all of us through the Order Paper? As the hon. Gentleman is in his place—I am grateful to him at least for that—will you now give him an opportunity to withdraw the early-day motion and the scandalous points which he is seeking to make?

Mr. David Jamieson (Plymouth, Devonport)

Further to that point of order, Madam Speaker. I tabled this early-day motion as a matter of good faith to give the hon. Member for St. Ives (Mr. Harris) an opportunity to refute the letter that had been put in his local newspaper. It is significant to note that the hon. Gentleman did not refute the contents of the letter, but just tried to deny that the person who wrote it was a former member of the Conservative party.

Would it be in order, Madam Speaker, for you to give an opportunity to the hon. Member for St. Ives to correct his early-motion 289, in which he has misspelt the name of a village in his own constituency?

Madam Speaker

Order. I have had enough of these exchanges. The House knows that hon. Members take responsibility for the texts of their own early-day motions—

Mr. Tony Banks (Newham, North-West)

On a point of order, Madam Speaker.

Madam Speaker

Just a minute. The hon. Member for Newham, North-West (Mr. Banks) is always on his feet asking for a point of order before I have finished talking.

The fact that the hon. Member for St. Ives tabled early-day motion 289 has put the matter in context.

Mr. Tony Banks

On a point of order, Madam Speaker. We have just had a series of requests to the Leader of the House for various debates—many interesting debates and many less interesting ones, but plenty of suggestions for business. If it turns out, when inquiries are made, that there was no request from the Leader of the Opposition to the Prime Minister not to have normal business on Tuesday, and given that the Leader of the House cited that request as the reason why the House would rise somewhat earlier than expected—despite all the business that we have suggested—can you make it clear that you would place no impediment on the Leader of the House coming back to the House with another business statement? That would ensure that we can have Prime Minister's questions on Tuesday.

Madam Speaker

The business of the House is not a matter for the Speaker, but for the Leader of the House in conjunction with the usual channels.

Mr. Harry Barnes (Derbyshire, North-East)

On a point of order, Madam Speaker. You will have heard the Leader of the House say in answer to my question that normal conventions would be followed on the introduction of the Government Bill on rights for people with disabilities. I wonder whether you can inform the House of the normal conventions for Parliament—I know that you cannot rule on the normal conventions of the Government.

Madam Speaker

The hon. Gentleman has a wry smile on his face because he knows that that is a hypothetical issue at the moment.