HL Deb 25 January 1999 vol 596 cc800-1

3.2 p.m.

Lord Campbell of Croy asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether paragraph 88, on contacts with the media, in the Ministerial Code issued on 31st July 1997 applies to unattributable briefings by Ministers' special advisers and their information officers.

The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Lord Falconer of Thoroton)

My Lords, in order to ensure the effective presentation of government policy, paragraph 88 of the Ministerial Code requires all major interviews and media appearances to be cleared with the No. 10 Press Office.

Lord Campbell of Croy

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble and learned Lord for that reply. However, as paragraph 88 requires all media contacts by both Ministers and officials to be recorded, have records been obtained for the information of the Cabinet Minister described as the "enforcer" of briefings alleged to be undermining the positions of other Ministers? Could such rival briefings have been avoided if the removal had not been secured of the chief information officers in six departments in the first six months in office of this Government?

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

My Lords, departments keep records of contacts with media for major interviews and media appearances. A record is also kept of occasions when officials provide background briefings to journalists. It would be impractical to keep a record of all contacts, whether on the record or off the record, since some would be informal. It is not appropriate for those records to be looked at in relation to the issues referred to by the noble Lord; they would deal with the sorts of records to which I have just referred. The issue concerning the six government information officers was looked into by a committee in another place and no criticism was made of the Government in relation to it.

Lord Campbell of Croy

My Lords, does that mean that the rigour of paragraph 88 has been relaxed since the debate initiated by me on 28th October 1997 to which the noble Lord, Lord McIntosh, replied most helpfully at that time? There does appear to have been a change.

Lord Falconer of Thoroton

My Lords, there has been no change to the terms of paragraph 88 in the Ministerial Code or to the extent to which it is enforced. The requirement in that paragraph is for major interviews and media to be cleared in advance by No. 10. By their nature those interviews will be on the record. As I indicated a moment ago, a record is also kept of occasions when officials provide background briefings to journalists. That is the scope of the rule and it is enforced.