Clause 34 - Notification by scrap metal dealers of destruction of motor vehicles
Vehicles (Crime) Bill
10:30 am
Mr Charles Clarke (Minister of State, Home Office; Norwich South, Labour)
I am glad to say that I did not. I do not recall the exchange that the hon. Gentleman is describing, but I recall that he raised the matter at Prime Minister's questions. I have never discussed with the chief constable the detail of any letter between him and Members of Parliament in Staffordshire; nor have I sought to bring pressure to bear on any words or in any other direction. The hon. Gentleman knows that I have regular meetings with Staffordshire Members of Parliament and the chief constable, which the hon. Gentleman sometimes attends. We discuss openly the resource and other issues facing the force and what is happening in crime in the area. I welcome those discussions. However, I have never had discussions outside the context of those meetings on such issues and, specifically, I have never discussed the content of letters that the chief constable might have written to Members of Parliament in his area.