HC Deb 27 October 2003 vol 412 c29 3.58 pm
Mr. Chris Bryant (Rhondda)

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. You made it clear in the urgent question that it would be wrong for any hon. Member to impute dishonour to another Member of the House, yet on two occasions Conservative Members, the shadow Northern Ireland Secretary and the Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition, shouted from a sedentary position that the Minister was speaking lies. I presume that you were not able to hear that. On such an issue, is it not all the more important that we return to the old traditions of the House?

Mr. Speaker

The hon. Gentleman should leave those matters to me.

Rev. Ian Paisley (North Antrim)

rose—

Mr. Speaker

Order. I hope that the hon. Gentleman is going to behave himself. He should not shout across the Floor of the House when the Speaker rises.

Rev. Ian Paisley

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Sir, as leader of the Ulster Democratic Unionist party, I want to make it perfectly clear that no member of my party said what the Minister reported us as saying. She mixed us up with the member of another party who said something like that. He is not a member of my party. I find it ill for the Minister to malign our people when she should be answering the question on everyone's mind in Northern Ireland. We are going back to killings in Northern Ireland and all we are given is a guess. We are being asked to rely on an educated guess for our future security.

Mr. Speaker

The Minister will have heard what the leader of the Democratic Unionist party has had to say.

Mrs. Iris Robinson (Strangford)

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker, of which I gave you notice. I have been informed that other Members and I have had appointments with Departments cancelled because of the election to another institution in Northern Ireland. Can you help us to ensure that our constituents are not disadvantaged by the election campaign, because it has no bearing on how we currently perform our roles in this House?

Mr. Speaker

That is not a matter for the Chair, but Ministers will have heard what the hon. Lady had to say.