§ Mr. Bill Walkerasked the Minister for Trade under what circumstances an hon. Member may be met by a car when arriving at a British Airports Authority airport aircraft dispersal point; and whether this was the case 386W when the right hon. Member for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (Mr. Steel) arrived at a London airport on Monday 5 July.
§ Mr. SproatThe British Airports Authority provides special facilites to persons who are accorded VIP status by Her Majesty's Government; such facilities can include being met by a car at the aircraft side. The right hon. Member for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles (Mr. Steel) is certainly entitled to use these facilities as Leader of a political party in Parliament if he chooses to do so: no doubt he did so on Monday 5 July. Members who are Ministers of Her Majesty's Government or are former Prime Ministers are also entitled to use these facilities. None the less, the more common practice among Ministers in the present Government, arriving on domestic flights, is to use the ordinary disembarking facilities available to the general public, without having an official car draw up by the side of the aircraft.