Business of the House

Lord Foster of Bath Excerpts

Thursday 9th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Sir George Young]

We will, of course, seek to accommodate this year the specific events to which the hon. Lady has referred: the St David’s day and international women’s day debates. On her second point, I am sympathetic to the idea of pre-allocating to the Backbench Business Committee a certain number of days each year and then allocating it a day in order to honour a commitment in respect of international women’s day, the pre-EU Council debates, St David’s day and other such events. I would be happy to have that particular dialogue. On the concept of a fixed day each week, the Wright Committee looked at that but did not actually recommend it. That Committee said that that there would be a risk of rigidity if we went down that road, so at the moment I say no to a fixed day but I am happy to try to accommodate her in the way that she indicated.

[Mr Don Foster (Bath) (LD)]

In 1975, five journalists died in Balibo in East Timor. In 2007, an Australian coroner’s court found that they had been deliberately killed by Indonesian troops and that this constituted a war crime. Five years on, with two British citizens having been killed in a war crime, is it not time that we had a statement from the Foreign Secretary on what our Government are going to do about it?

[Sir George Young]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his concern. I will draw that matter to the attention of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and, of course, see whether it would be appropriate for the Government to make a statement in the light of that tragedy.