§ Mr. Andrew Mackay (Bracknell)On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I am sure that it will not have escaped your attention that, as we speak, the Minister for Children is making a personal statement outside the House. You will recall from exchanges during business questions last week and on a previous point of order that many people in the House believe that the Minister should make a statement here, especially bearing it in mind that she traduced the whistleblower in the Islington child abuse case by suggesting that he was mentally unstable. Is there any way in which you can protect our interests and ensure that Ministers make statements inside the House from the Dispatch Box, and not outside to the media?
§ Mr. SpeakerI understand that the right hon. Lady is making a statement that has nothing to do with parliamentary proceedings. It is a matter outside the House about which she is making a statement.
§ Mr. Eric Forth (Bromley and Chislehurst)Further to that point of order, Mr. Speaker. If the Minister for Children is saying anything that has any bearing on her ministerial responsibilities, surely that would rightly be a matter for the House. Is that not something to which the House may wish to return tomorrow, when we might want an early opportunity to hold the Minister to account here for her ministerial responsibilities, however widely that might be construed?
§ Mr. SpeakerWe have just been speaking about farming matters. The farmers in Scotland often say that the cares of tomorrow are for a day still to come. We will worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. [Interruption.] I was not giving the right hon. Gentleman any encouragement whatever—it was the opposite, actually.