§ Lord Alton of Liverpoolasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the Prime Minsiter declined to meet an all-party delegation of peers and inter-faith religious leaders to discuss the scientific and ethical objections to human cloning. [HL260]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath):The Prime Minister was unable to agree to a meeting due to existing diary commitments.
The Government have listened very carefully to representations made on the recommendations of the Donaldson Report and the regulations and they respect the often strongly held views (on both sides of the debate) of many people on these difficult and sensitive issues. We have arranged a number of meetings with Ministers and Professor Donaldson, to which all Members of Parliament and Peers were invited, in order to discuss these issues. A further meeting has been arranged for 4 pm on Thursday 18 January.