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Angela Smith

Main Page: Angela Smith (Liberal Democrat - Penistone and Stocksbridge)

Speaker’s Statement

BSkyB

Angela Smith Excerpts

Business of the House
Thursday 30th June 2011

(13 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.

Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.

This information is provided by Parallel Parliament and does not comprise part of the offical record

Jeremy Hunt Portrait Mr Hunt
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I can confirm that under these undertakings the board of the hived-off Sky News will have a majority of independent directors and that its chair will be fully independent. That is completely different from Sky News’s current situation.

Angela Smith Portrait Angela Smith (Penistone and Stocksbridge) (Lab)
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The Secretary of State has announced a consultation this morning, albeit a very short one. Will he give us a commitment not to make the final decision during the recess and to bring the matter back to the House for a debate when we reconvene in the autumn?

Jeremy Hunt Portrait Mr Hunt
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I will certainly bring the decision back to the House when it is made. With regard to timing, I am trying to do this as quickly as possible, while ensuring that we have proper consultation processes and a proper amount of time to consider the responses to the consultation. The fact that I have today strengthened the undertakings that were published on 3 March reflects the fact that we are taking the consultation very seriously.

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