§ Mr. Andrew Dismore (Hendon)On a point of order, Madam Speaker. Last night I was informed that the Chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Lord Neill, has been retained by Dame Shirley Porter as counsel in her proposed appeal against the High Court judgment last year that she was guilty of gerrymandering and would be subject to a surcharge of £26 million.
Given Lord Neill's responsibility to report impartially to Parliament on issues relating to probity in national and local government, is it in order for him to accept such a brief, which goes to the heart of those matters? Given that there is such a clear conflict of interests, will you investigate this serious issue in more detail?
§ Madam SpeakerThe answer is no. It is not a point of order.