Cases of Mr. Allig han and Mr. Walkden

Part of Committee of Privileges Report – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 30 October 1947.

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Photo of Mr William Brown Mr William Brown , Rugby 12:00, 30 October 1947

In those circumstances, two considerations arise. The first is that having decided to take into account the Report of the Committee of Privileges, we end this Debate, according to the Motions on the Order Paper, by leaving it still in the air. The second consideration that arises, I submit, is that if I can argue, as I do, that one cannot apply a penalty in one case without applying it in all sorts of other cases, we ought to ask ourselves where we are getting before we apply the penalty in the first instance.

I am submitting to you, Mr. Speaker, and to the House that if we apply a penalty of this kind to the betrayal of secrets of a party meeting, we do not know where this process will end. I say that there are sufficient alternative powers in the hands of the parties to make it unnecessary to promote this formidable weapon of Privilege today, in the name of the House of Commons, to achieve what ought to be done, if at all, in the name of the parties. It is monstrous to apply to two such utterly different cases as that of the Member just dealt with and that of the hon. Member for Doncaster now under consideration, the same Resolution, involving, as I think, logically, the same penalty. I have repudiated the reign of logic on the earlier Resolution, and I agree with that eminently just and judicial man, the Home Secretary, in saying that automatic punishment of the same kind does not follow. But at any rate, we shall deliver ourselves into the hands of those who argue that the same punishment automatically does follow if we are not careful.

The real offence of both of these men was not that they betrayed party secrets. [An HON. MEMBER: "We all agree."] If hon. Members opposite would only be as enthusiastic in their assent as they are in their interruptions, how harmonious this Chamber would be! The real gravamen of the charge against the Member we have disposed of was not that he betrayed party secrets, but that he covered himself by smearing everyone else. [Interruption.] That is my opinion, and I am entitled to put it. In this case the writing of an article that cast obloquy on all sorts of named and unnamed Members of Parliament does not arise.

Whatever we think of the conduct of this Member, it is not in the same category of conduct as the Member whose case we have dealt with. If we pass the same Resolution, we may find ourselves logically compelled to pass the same penalty. I do not say that we would. The performance of many hon. Members opposite on the last Resolution gives me no reason to hope that their performance on this one will be any better. [Interruption.] I am not a judge. I am advocating my point of view. I thought that was the whole idea of Members of Parliament—to be advocates of the point of view they formed. If the time comes when that ceases to be, it will be a bad day for Parliament and democracy. I express my view that there is a great gap between this case and the last one. The case here is the betrayal of party secrets, which is a sin, but which ought to be dealt with by the party, and not by bringing in the law of Privilege. We ought not to pass an identical Resolution in respect of a radically different offence which may involve us in the logical necessity of applying the same penalty. Therefore, I hope, before we vote, that the Lord President or the Home Secretary will give us a clear indication as to what is the penalty which is proposed in the second case in order that before we vote upon this omnibus Resolution we may know exactly what we are doing, because I am not prepared to agree to the same penalty as in the last case.