Sir Lindsay Hoyle would like to take the Government to task for “appalling” ministerial code breaches, but he has “not got the power”, MPs have heard.
The Commons Speaker said on Tuesday that the extent of his authority, “if the House wishes, needs to change”, because on his watch the situation “would be different”.
The Government’s own code sets out the “high standards of behaviour” which ministers are expected to maintain.
According to the document, they should keep “commercially sensitive material” under wraps until it is published, without letting the media see it first.
But a row broke out over the Government’s handling of the recent Strategic Defence Review (SDR), when journalists were allowed to see the document before MPs received their copies.
“At 10.30am on the Monday morning (June 2), journalists were invited to a reading room in Horse Guards Parade, where they were given access to the White Paper,” Conservative shadow defence minister Mark Francois said.
He added that this was “clearly a breach of the code” and continued: “It was also seen by members of defence companies, trade associations, academics, think tanks and trade unionists at the same time that the markets were opening at eight o’clock.”
Mr Francois said this raised “a possibility of insider trading”.
Sir Lindsay replied that he had raised this “at the time”.
The Speaker said: “But what I would say is that I have no responsibility for the ministerial code.
“That, if the House wishes, needs to change because unfortunately, it makes a nonsense.
“There is a ministerial code there. The fact is that it is not being kept as we expect it to, but it is for this House, if it wishes to change the ministerial code – please do so.
“Or, I’m more than happy for the Government to change it, if they cannot accept it.
“But what we cannot have is this continuation of breaking the ministerial code.
“It is appalling. It is unacceptable, because in the end – it is not a political point – I am here to uphold the rights of the backbenchers. The backbenchers should be the ones that hear it first.
“The fact that documents are going to be given – they should be given to MPs. It is about me supporting MPs, but unfortunately, in this particular area I have not got the power.
“I wish I had, because it would be different.”
Defence Secretary John Healey made a statement on the SDR in the Commons more than two weeks ago – on June 2 – when he told MPs it was “a plan to meet the threats we face, a plan to step up on European security and lead in Nato, a plan that learns the lessons from Ukraine”.
Sir Lindsay had criticised the Government for briefing out parts of the document the previous weekend.
“I’m disappointed once again that the Government appears to have breached the principle set out in paragraph 9.1 of the ministerial code – that when Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of Government policy should be made in the first instance in Parliament,” he said.
