§ Madam SpeakerI have a short statement to make before the Deputy Prime Minister's statement.
Hon. Members will be aware that Canon Donald Gray is to retire as Speaker's Chaplain on 31 October. I can now inform the House that I have appointed as his successor the Rev. Canon Robert Wright, vicar of Portsea and honorary canon of Portsmouth cathedral, who is shortly to become a canon of Westminster. Canon Wright will take up his duties as Speaker's Chaplain at the beginning of November.
I should like to take this opportunity to express my thanks—and, I am sure, those of all hon. Members—to Donald Gray for his exceptional contribution to the life of the House of Commons during his 11 years as Chaplain. He has been a true friend to very many of us—certainly to me—and his warmth and compassion, as well as his learning, have been a feature of Parliament for the past decade. He and Joyce will take with them the gratitude and good wishes of the House in their well-deserved retirement.