Point of Order (Hansard, 7 May 2002)

§ Mr. Eric Forth (Bromley and Chislehurst)

On a point of order, Mr. Deputy Speaker. On page 63 of "Erskine May", under the heading "Ministerial Accountability to Parliament", it is stated that it is of paramount importance that Ministers give accurate and truthful information to Parliament, correcting any inadvertent error at the earliest opportunity. Ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament will be expected to offer their resignation to the Prime Minister". On 26 February, my hon. Friend the Member for West Derbyshire (Mr. McLoughlin), who is in his place on the Front Bench, asked the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions to say whether Mr. Martin Sixsmith was a civil servant in his Department on 22 February". The Secretary of State answered: As I said earlier, Martin Sixsmith offered his resignation, which was accepted, on 15 February."—[Official Report, 26 February 2002; Vol. 380, c. 574.]

However, today's edition of the Evening Standard states that, in an astonishing turnaround, a statement from the Department apologised for the fact that it announced on 15 February that Mr. Sixsmith had resigned, when he had done nothing of the sort.

That is a very serious matter indeed. On the face of it, the House appears to have been grievously misled in exactly the terms set out in "Erskine May" and the ministerial code. Can we therefore expect—indeed, demand—the earliest possible statement and apology to the House from the Secretary of State, to set the matter straight? We deserve no less. Admittedly, there have been recent rare examples of Cabinet Ministers coming to the House and apologising for errors, even though they were less serious than this. However, this is a matter of such public interest and gravity that I hope that you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, will agree that it is no less than the Secretary of State's duty to come to the House immediately and set matters straight. If necessary he should apologise, and preferably he should resign.