HC Deb 14 April 1999 vol 329 c276W
Mr. Don Foster

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if she will list(a) those units in her Department and (b) the number of departmental staff which are concerned with preparing rebuttals of allegations in the media; and what is (i) the total cost of their work, including salaries, and (ii) the number of rebuttals issued since May 1997. [71846]

Mr. Paul Murphy

[holding answer 22 February 1999]The Northern Ireland Information Service does not have a specialist rebuttal unit. It is part of the day-to-day responsibilities of all information officers to identify and seek to correct wherever possible misleading or inaccurate information.