– in the House of Commons at 4:21 pm on 16 March 2009.
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I seek your guidance on how I can ensure that Ministers respect statements that are made in this House. On
"we Conservatives support this Bill".—[ Hansard, 27 January 2009; Vol. 487, c. 203.]
Yesterday on the "the Politics Show", the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Welfare Reform Bill, said:
"the Bill we want to put through on Tuesday will do that, and the Tories oppose it"— a view that I believe he repeated in Work and Pensions questions this afternoon. How can I ensure that Ministers respect statements made in this House and do not make such inaccurate statements that are designed to mislead the general public?
I must tell the right hon. Lady that I have no control over what Ministers say in this House, so it is not a matter for me. It seems to me, however, that she has put the matter on the record and put the record straight.
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Last Thursday I attended a meeting in this place about Des Warren and Ricky Tomlinson, who were jailed in the early 1970s for their trade union activities. Some 60 people were at this demonstration, and many of them were wearing T-shirts displaying the slogan "The Shrewsbury Two", as those two people were commonly known. Sadly, the vast majority of those individuals were told to take their T-shirts off when they came into this place. Is that a practice that you are aware of, Mr. Speaker, or has something new happened recently?
I am well aware of the story of the Shrewsbury pickets. It was something that I was involved in. [Interruption.] Perhaps I should put that another way: I listened to their case when I was a shop steward. The dress code of individuals visiting the House is varied, so I see no reason why these people's T-shirts should have been taken from them or why they were told to remove them. I will look further into the matter and see what I can find out.
If this is going to be an extension of what I have already said—