Points of Order (Hansard, 21 July 1999)

§ Madam Speaker
Before I deal with today's points of order, I shall deal with one other matter. I need to respond to points of order made to me yesterday.
I regret that there appears to be continuing confusion in the minds of some hon. Members about the effect of the motion relating to the Railways Bill that was passed on Monday night by the House.
The motion before us that night was debated and agreed to, and the Bill was referred to the Select Committee on the Environment, Transport and Regional Affairs. It is now for that Committee, which I understand met this morning, to consider the provisions of the Bill. The Committee may make recommendations about the content of the Bill. It does not, however, have the power to make amendments to the Bill.
What may or may not become of the Bill after the Committee completes its work is certainly not a matter for me. That is a matter for the Government. Hon. Members who wish to pursue the further handling of the Bill should do so through the usual channels or through business questions.
Now that I have clarified the situation once more—not for the first time, but once more—I hope that hon. Members will not seek to draw the Chair into what is essentially a political dispute about the handling of legislation. May I say to those hon. Members who may remain dissatisfied with the procedures of the House that they are at liberty to make representations to the Select Committee on Procedure or to the Select Committee on Modernisation?

§ Mr. Gerald Howarth (Aldershot)
Further to your ruling on that matter, Madam Speaker, which I did not know you were going to make—

§ Madam Speaker
I was asked to make a ruling.

§ Mr. Howarth
I did not realise that you would make a ruling today, Madam Speaker.

§ Madam Speaker
I always do things very speedily.

§ Mr. Howarth
Indeed, Madam Speaker. You always satisfy the requirements of the House.
As the Member responsible for ensuring that the motion was debated in the House on Monday—I objected to it last week—may I ask you for some clarification? Given that you have said that the Committee cannot amend the Bill, although it may comment on it, will there be another debate on Second Reading when the Bill comes back to the House, and will it go on Report; or is that in the hands of the House itself?

§ Madam Speaker
That is what I have just said. What may or may not become of the Bill after the Committee completes its work is certainly not a matter for me; it is a matter for the Government.

§ Mr. Howarth
On a different point of order, Madam Speaker. Last month, I raised the matter of the soldiers whose names were revealed by the Saville inquiry into 1195 the events in Londonderry in January 1972. I said on the Floor of the House that their statements, which were given in confidence in 1972, had been released to the lawyers representing the families of those who were killed in Londonderry. The inquiry put out a statement that day, in effect rebutting what I said, but also saying that it was looking into the matter.
Today, the inquiry has issued a press release confirming that it has released the names of those soldiers—who served our country and put their lives at risk—for the first time since 1972, putting them into the public domain.
I seek your guidance, Madam Speaker. The inquiry is incompetent, but given that the Prime Minister has told me in a letter that the matter is nothing to do with him, even though he set up the inquiry, how on earth am I able to challenge that incompetence? Former members of the Parachute Regiment around the country and my constituents who are former members of the Parachute Regiment have absolutely no confidence whatever in the inquiry, but if I cannot tackle its incompetence through ministerial offices, how am I to deal with this matter, which is causing great expense to the public and seriously undermining confidence in the inquiry's fairness?

§ Madam Speaker
I want to be as helpful as I can to the hon. Gentleman. May I consider what he has said and look at the report and the press release, which I have not seen and to which he refers me? May I take the opportunity of writing fully to him after I have considered all those aspects?

§ Mr. Howarth
I am most grateful.

§ Mr. Quentin Davies (Grantham and Stamford)
On a point of order, Madam Speaker. Convention and statute law give the House a number of privileges. I know that you, and almost all Members of the House, feel strongly that it is important for the dignity and effectiveness of Parliament that those privileges should not be abused. One of those privileges is immunity from suits of libel or slander relating to what is said in the House. I am afraid that the remarks made by the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner) a few moments ago, in which he accused a private citizen of being a drug runner without adducing any evidence whatever, were indeed an abuse of that kind.

§ Madam Speaker
Order. I have been in the Chair since 2.30. I have heard exchanges across the Floor of the 1196 House involving Members of both sides of the House which I strongly deprecate. We should remember the wise words of Erskine May: Good temper and moderation are the characteristics of parliamentary language. We should not be abusive, as we have been today. I deprecate very strongly the accusations that have been made from all parts of the House.

§ Mr. John Bercow (Buckingham)
On a point of order, Madam Speaker. You will know that I was one of a number of Members who inquired about the procedure for the handling of the Railways Bill. I, among others, am very grateful for the guidance that you have given, and I understand that it is for the Government to decide on the future handling of Bills, but is it anticipated that there will be published or stated criteria according to which there will be either one or more than one debate on the Second Reading of a Bill? If Members do not know in advance whether there will be one or two debates on Second Reading, it will be very difficult for them to make any sort of judgment about the opportunities that they will have to contribute.

§ Madam Speaker
As I thought I had explained in my very long answer to points of order, those are questions that could be put to the Leader of the House at business questions, or through the usual channels across the Floor of the House.