Points of Order

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 4:55 pm on 21 June 2011.

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Photo of Hilary Benn Hilary Benn Shadow Leader of the House of Commons 4:55, 21 June 2011

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. We have today, for the second week in a row, had a written statement, followed by a prime ministerial press conference, followed by an oral statement. Last week it was on the Health and Social Care Bill, today it was on sentencing and legal aid. It is pretty unusual to have two statements on the same subject on the same day, but do you share my concern that it is discourteous to the House, because it means that the media have a chance to question Ministers on policy—the Prime Minister in the last two cases—before Members of this House get the chance to ask questions? As such, it is not in keeping with the spirit of our rules.