Budget Leak Inquiry Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Budget Leak Inquiry

David Evennett Excerpts
Thursday 22nd March 2012

(12 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. May I remind the House that this is a narrowly focused urgent question seeking a leak inquiry? It is a matter of great importance, but it is on that matter that exchanges should be focused. This is not a rerun of the Budget debate, which will be continued, but is about the subject of the urgent question.

David Evennett Portrait Mr David Evennett (Bexleyheath and Crayford) (Con)
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Does my hon. Friend agree that there will obviously be wild speculation before any Budget, much of which turns out to be wrong, and that we do not need any lectures from Opposition Members, who leaked everything all the time when they were in government?

David Gauke Portrait Mr Gauke
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I do not think that we can draw a conclusion that there has been a decline in the standards of journalism just from the fact that in 2005 the predictions of what was in the Budget were more consistently accurate than in 2012.