Points of Order

Chris Williamson Excerpts

Wednesday 24th October 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. It is always a delight to hear the hon. Gentleman’s mellifluous tones, but on this occasion I will deny myself that pleasure, on the grounds that the hon. Gentleman is pursuing a matter of earnest interest to him and of considerable debate, no doubt, but there is no matter for the Chair here. If he strongly disagrees, he can come and have a cup of tea with me and I will talk to him about it. If I am wrong, I shall concede it, but I do not think I am.

[Chris Williamson (Derby North) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I would be grateful for your guidance on whether it is appropriate for the hon. Member for Crawley (Henry Smith) to book a meeting room on the parliamentary estate for a meeting with a company, Siemens, involved in bidding for a major rail procurement contract—

[Mr Speaker]

Order. If the hon. Gentleman has a complaint about the conduct of a Member, there are established methods by which to pursue such complaints, including reference to the commissioner. If he is not convinced of that, he can pursue it at a lower level, but it should not be pursued on the Floor of the House via the device of a point of order. I know his intentions are good, but so are mine in trying to advise him on how to proceed.