Business of the House Debate

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Department: Leader of the House

Business of the House

Alex Salmond Excerpts
Thursday 25th February 2016

(8 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Grayling Portrait Chris Grayling
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My hon. Friend speaks with his customary effectiveness on behalf of his constituents. This issue affects a number of Members and constituents up and down the country. I will make sure the Health Secretary is aware of the concerns he has raised and ask the Department of Health to respond to him.

Alex Salmond Portrait Alex Salmond (Gordon) (SNP)
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What is the view of the Leader of the House on the legal status of the Prime Minister’s European agreement? Does he agree with his successor as Justice Secretary or does he agree with the Attorney General, whose view he mentioned earlier? The Leader of the House was the only Lord Chancellor not to be a lawyer. He therefore has an advantage in terms of plain speaking, so who does he agree with: the Justice Secretary or the Attorney General?

Lord Grayling Portrait Chris Grayling
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Fortunately, I am not a lawyer, so I am not going to give the right hon. Gentleman legal advice. I would say what I said earlier—that the view of the Attorney General on behalf of the Government is that it has legal force, but I am sure that this is going to be a matter of lively debate in the weeks ahead.