Privileges

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 4:37 pm on 20 April 1995.

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Photo of Sir John Morris Sir John Morris Shadow Attorney General 4:37, 20 April 1995

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for confirming what I said earlier.

I want to bring my remarks to a close. Before I gave way, I was saying that the word "substantially" as applied by the report to The Sunday Times had been ignored. Of course The Sunday Times caught the fish in question, based on a line of inquiry emanating from the observations of an unknown business man. The House may wish to pass further comment as to whether the agreement between The Sunday Times and the business man should have been reached at all, and to develop that subject further.

Following those events, if our recommendations are accepted, the two Members are to be punished. They were caught through entrapment. Nothing was known against the 20 Members that The Sunday Times tried to seduce. Two happened to be caught with the bait, yet although five and a half months had passed between the business man's tip and the start of The Sunday Times inquiry, no evidence was found about any other Member. The newspaper went back to other sources, asking business men and people concerned with public relations, yet no evidence other than rumour was discovered. The Sunday Times told us that, by the terms of the agreement, it was forbidden to investigate the four names that the business man had given it. Two of our colleagues were caught by the bait.

I suspect that if a policeman had used the methods employed by The Sunday Times, shock and horror would have been expressed in leading articles in more than one newspaper. An agent provocateur, according to the recent royal commission, is one who entices another to commit an express breach of the law which he would not otherwise have committed". The agent provocateur has been disapproved of over the years by judges, even though the fact that a person would not have committed the offence had it not been for the activities of the agent provocateur is no defence in English law. Entrapment through deception should be disapproved of, and I echo that sentiment. The taking of clandestine recordings within the precincts of the House may well undermine the bond of trust built up over the years between Members of Parliament and the lobby. That bond acts as a lubricant to ensure that news reaches the public under many guises. We all value it. I join in placing our report before the House for its earnest consideration.