Media Comment (Madam Speaker's Statement) (Hansard, 28 January 1997)

§ Madam Speaker

I have a statement to make arising from the point of order raised by the hon. Member for Linlithgow (Mr. Dalyell) last Thursday. He contended that some parts of recent media comment on the conduct of Members gravely reflected on the good name of the House as a whole. As I hinted last Thursday, the hon. Member's remarks struck a chord with me. It is my impression that damaging comments—often highly generalised—have been common in newspapers, television and radio programmes, books and even learned articles. I believe that I owe it to the House to make some considered points of my own.

In my statement to the House on 14 October last, I said that I strongly believed that the matters under investigation should be resolved as soon as possible. Since then, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, with the enhanced resources with which he was speedily provided, as well as the Committee on Standards and Privileges, have been hard at work—work that is enormously time-consuming and painstaking—investigating the matters which stand referred to them. With the reputations of individual Members and others at stake, these investigations cannot be unduly hurried, but I repeat my view that they should be concluded at the earliest possible moment.

I should stress also that the Commissioner and the Committee are carrying out this quasi-judicial work under new arrangements which are little more than a year old. It is deplorable that many sections of the media have drawn only scant attention to the fact that, following the original work of Lord Nolan's committee, the House has made many far-reaching changes to its rules and mechanisms. The House as a whole, and I as its Speaker, are determined that these new arrangements should work effectively.

154 It should be noted that the first Nolan report stated: The great majority of men and women in British public life are honest and hard-working, and observe high ethical standards". After a lifetime's experience in politics and nearly a quarter of a century as a Member of this House, I know that to be true. Members of this House have a responsibility to conduct themselves according to the high standards which the electorate rightly expect of them. The overwhelming majority of Members do so.

There can be no complaint about the role of the media in identifying cases where it appears that Members have fallen short of those standards. Indeed, in so doing, the media perform a public service. But it is reasonable to expect that the media do not repeat and pursue allegations in a way that prejudges their validity pending the outcome of investigations by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, to whom any new genuinely new evidence should be sent. Above all, they should not use individual allegations as the occasion for making highly generalised and unsubstantiated comments against Members of this House as a whole and against our parliamentary system.

The Nolan committee's first report also stated: We would prefer more acknowledgement from the media that the overwhelming majority of public servants work hard and have high standards. We would prefer more recognition of the value of our democratic mechanisms and the dangers of undermining them. Again, I agree. It can hardly be a coincidence that it is to this House, above all others, that parliamentarians from all over the world come for consultations and advice.

I am determined that the new procedures and rules that the House has established should work in such a way as to bolster our democratic system. The media can play their part with fairer and better balanced coverage and comment. I also look to hon. Members in all parts of the House for constructive support for this historic institution to which our constituents have sent us, and which all of us have the honour to serve.