§ Mr. Rhodri Morgan (Cardiff, West)On a point of order, Madam Speaker. It follows a similar point of order which was raised by the hon. Member for Ayr (Mr. Gallie) on 24 October, on which you ruled, and arises from the actions of the hon. Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Jones).
In the summer, the hon. Member wrote 18th birthday congratulations, in the form of a letter on his constituency notepaper, and claimed to be acting in a ministerial capacity. Unfortunately for the hon. Gentleman, perhaps, one of the letters went to a constituency activist of mine, who brought it to my attention and said that it had spoiled her 18th birthday. She would be very happy to receive a birthday card from me, but was not happy to receive a lot of Conservative propaganda from the hon. Member for Cardiff, North—to whom I gave notice at midday by telephone and by note of my intention to raise the issue today.
I was adding to the problems since I wrote to the hon. Member for Cardiff, North protesting about the matter when it was drawn to my attention three weeks ago. So far, I have not received a reply giving some explanation of why he was writing to my constituents. Indeed, when I spoke to him last night and asked him when I would get a reply, he told me that he did not intend to reply, which is why I have no option but to resort to bringing the matter to the attention of the House.
Not only is there the issue of writing to other hon. Members' constituents—the point made by the hon. Member for Ayr, on which you ruled last week Madam Speaker—there is a rule of the House, as I understand it, that birthday greetings from hon. Members must be no more than greetings, and must not include propaganda about Conservative achievements in Wales, and so on.
Thirdly, there is the fact that the hon. Member for Cardiff, North has not answered my letter, and, fourthly, he has claimed specifically that he was writing in his ministerial capacity, which he has no right to do in the form of birthday greetings to 18-year-olds in Cardiff, West.
§ Madam SpeakerThe hon. Gentleman's principal concern is that one of his constituents has been approached by another Member. I can confirm his understanding that it is a clear convention that, unless otherwise agreed between the hon. Members concerned, the interests of members of the electorate can be represented only by their constituency Member—in this case, the hon. Member for Cardiff, West (Mr. Morgan). But as he and the House know, I, as Speaker, have no means of enforcing those conventions; I have to leave it to the good sense of Members to work out their problems between them.
§ Mr. Ian Bruce (South Dorset)On a point of order, Madam Speaker. I know that you in particular are keen to defend both the reputations of this House and Members of it. I have a difficulty with The Independent. Several days ago, the Labour Research magazine, which is linked to the Labour party, did its usual accurate level of research in supposedly revealing a secret document about Members who belong to the freemason organisation. I might add that that secret document is available in most public 306 libraries, and the magazine demonstrated only that it could not read it correctly, since it misnamed me as a senior official of the freemason organisation.
The article attempted to smear colleagues who are members of the organisation, which does a great deal of good charitable work. It presented the matter as something sleazy, which Nolan should be looking into.
The particular point that I raise is that, as we all know in this place, a lie is halfway round the world before truth has got its coat on. The item has been retracted by the newspaper in a piece which nobody could see if they did not have their glasses on—
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. I cannot allow debates, or these lengthy statements by Members. I do not think that the House quite understands what a point of order is about. A point of order has to be something with which I, as Speaker, can deal. Now come to the point of order.
§ Mr. BruceThe point for you, Madam Speaker, is whether, when Lobby correspondents refuse to put the record right as quickly as possible in a sensible way, you can remove the passes from those people and—
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. An individual complaint that the hon. Gentleman has against the Lobby is not a matter for me as Speaker to deal with. He must deal with the Lobby himself, as I have done for the past 23 years.
§ Mr. Brian Wilson (Cunninghame, North)On another point of order, Madam Speaker. During Question Time, I was astonished to hear Captain Richard Killick, who was formerly one of the Royal Navy's senior experts on nuclear safety, being defamed by the Minister for Industry and Energy. Will you confirm, Madam Speaker, that a constituent has an absolute right to raise matters of concern, both local and national, with his or her constituency Member of Parliament? The idea that a constituent should be prevented from doing that, and instead should have to go to the Government—the sponsor of the legislation about which he is complaining and wishes to express concern—is absurd, and extremely dangerous.
§ Madam SpeakerAny individual in this country has an absolute right and liberty to go to his or her own Member of Parliament to seek redress. That is the way in which we all deal with our constituents; there is a perfect right of access.
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. Just a moment. I can see hon. Members standing.
§ Mr. Jacques Arnold (Gravesham)I agree with you, Madam Speaker, that constituents have an absolute right to come to their constituency Member to raise matters on their own behalf. Could you therefore do something about the fact that the hon. Member for Cunninghame, North (Mr. Wilson), who has just made that very point, came to my constituency without advising me in advance, in order to take a petition from constituents on a matter that they had not had the courtesy to raise with me in the first place? [Interruption.]
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. I think that we could probably take up many afternoons with such matters. 307 I have given many rulings on the subject, and I expect Members of the House to behave as adults. [Interruption.] Order. I have given my rulings, and explained to the House about the convention. I expect Members to observe that convention, and to arrange matters between themselves.
§ Mr. D. N. Campbell-Savours (Workington)Will you let us know, Madam Speaker, whether the hon. Member for Dover (Mr. Shaw) has yet submitted any evidence in support of the allegations that he made yesterday?
§ Madam SpeakerI have not yet received any information from the hon. Gentleman.
§ Mrs. Alice Mahon (Halifax)On a point of order, Madam Speaker. You will be aware that today Yorkshire Water is applying for a drought order for permission to introduce 24-hour rota cut-offs in Halifax and Huddersfield. If that happens, industry in my constituency could be desperately affected. Even worse, schools could close, and the elderly and sick in nursing homes could be put gravely at risk.
My point of order for you is to ask whether the Government have said that a Minister will make a statement on what, thanks to the mismanagement of the privatised utility, Yorkshire Water, is a grave crisis for my constituents and for people in Huddersfield.
§ Madam SpeakerNo, I have not been told that a Minister seeks to make a statement today. Had that been the case, we should all have known about it, because it would have been on the Annunciator.
§ Ms Diane Abbott (Hackney, North and Stoke Newington)Have you, Madam Speaker, any information about a Government statement on the case of Ken Saro-Wiwa, who has been sentenced to death on trumped-up charges by a military tribunal under the discredited military regime in Nigeria? Given the circumstances, severing diplomatic relations and severe economic sanctions are the least that people will expect from the British Government.
§ Madam SpeakerI refer the hon. Lady to the point of order and exchange that took place on the matter yesterday. No, the Government have not told me that they seek to make a statement.
§ Mr. Brian H. Donohoe (Cunninghame, South)Although obviously I accept your ruling, Madam Speaker, on the application for an emergency debate under Standing Order No. 20 made by my hon. Friend the Member for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Mr. Foulkes), I wonder what other avenues are open to us as Members of Parliament to pursue the matter.
§ Madam SpeakerI should have thought that the hon. Gentleman had been in the House long enough to know that there is more time now for Back Benchers to raise such issues than ever before. If he does not know what they are, he can come to my office and I will give him a seminar.
§ Mr. Thomas Graham (Renfrew, West and Inverclyde)Further to that point of order, Madam Speaker. I seek your guidance, too, because of my extreme concern for my constituents who live on the coast near the area where the explosives are being washed up. Our concern is environmental. Will the Government make a statement—
§ Madam SpeakerOrder. The hon. Gentleman seeks to raise the same matter again. There are many opportunities—through Adjournment debates, on the Loyal Address and in many other ways—for the matter to be raised in the future.
§ Mr. Gerald Bermingham (St. Helens, South)Further to the point of order raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Workington (Mr. Campbell-Savours), Madam Speaker. If the hon. Member for Dover (Mr. Shaw) does not supply you with the evidence to which he referred in his spurious allegation yesterday, what steps—if any—can be taken to bring the hon. Gentleman back to the House to withdraw the allegation?
§ Madam SpeakerI cannot answer hypothetical questions.