Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 10:19 pm on 7 July 2009.
Ivan Lewis
Minister of State (Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
10:19,
7 July 2009
My friend is not only honourable but learned, and he knows full well the answer to that question. That is why it is not reasonable or fair, in the context of this debate, to raise any matter relating to a case that is before the courts. He knows full well that any Minister stood at this Dispatch Box could not engage in an answer to that question without jeopardising matters that I understand are still being considered by the Court of Appeal in this country. One must ask why I am being asked to answer a question that hon. Members know I cannot possibly answer from this Dispatch Box at this time. The right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden knows better than to fuel conspiracy theories without providing substantive evidence to the House that proves beyond all reasonable doubt that the accusations that he is making about these cases are borne out.
If you've ever seen inside the Commons, you'll notice a large table in the middle - upon this table is a box, known as the dispatch box. When members of the Cabinet or Shadow Cabinet address the house, they speak from the dispatch box. There is a dispatch box for the government and for the opposition. Ministers and Shadow Ministers speak to the house from these boxes.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.