Ministerial Code (Culture Secretary)

Jim Sheridan Excerpts

Wednesday 13th June 2012 Commons Chamber

[Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (Lab)]

May I begin by saying that I shall heed the advice that is often given by Mr Speaker about how we behave in the Chamber and, indeed, about our actions? Today has been a perfect example of point scoring—that is exactly what has been going on.

Let me begin in a non-partisan way. Since being elected as an executive member of the parliamentary Labour party, I have often objected to the association of Ministers, Prime Ministers and others with News International and other news outlets. After being elected to the PLP committee eight years ago, I raised that issue with the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair. I found it obscene that he travelled halfway around the world to court Rupert Murdoch and gain his support. I do not think that that should be allowed in any democracy, and I voiced concerns in the PLP on behalf of a number of people whom I represented who felt the same way.

My very good friend the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown) was perhaps not as exercised as Tony Blair about going around the world and courting Rupert Murdoch’s support, but he had an opportunity when he was in office to introduce legislation that could have stopped at a stroke some of News International’s behaviour. From that point of view, I feel that I am exonerated, given the opinions that I expressed at the time. I genuinely believe that people outside are angry—people who do not have access to all the stuff about what he or she said and when and how they said it, and so on. They want to know that their politicians have the highest integrity and are not intimidated, bullied or bought by support. That is what they want to know, and that is the important thing about today.

The Secretary of State has an ally in the Scottish First Minister, who is dancing around the smoke signals in Scotland and is being equally evasive about his relationship with Rupert Murdoch. Hopefully, that will come out in the inquiry today, but we will have to see how it pans out. The Secretary of State has attended a number of meetings of the Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport, of which I am a member, and I have the highest respect for him. However, because this whole thing has blown up, in future I would have difficulty taking seriously his judgment or his integrity. Conservative Back Benchers can speak for themselves, but I suggest that Labour members of the Committee would feel the same way.

We have heard recorded evidence or non-evidence about what happened, but we have not heard—perhaps my party is as guilty as anyone else—about the cosy dinners and meetings that take place at taxpayer-funded residences and are not recorded. We do not know what happened, what was said or what was agreed. That has got to stop too, because it does not help the public to understand exactly how the system works. Before the Conservatives came to power, their manifesto said that the party would clean up the image of politics and politicians. Perhaps the Secretary of State can tell us what the coalition, or the Conservative Government, have done to clean up that image. Certainly in correspondence that I receive people say that nothing has changed, or in fact that things have got worse.

[Anna Soubry (Broxtowe) (Con)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim Sheridan]

No, I will not bother.

May I draw another parallel with the situation that the Secretary of State is in? There is concern about the perception of the Olympics in this country. As things stand, transport workers in London are threatening to take industrial action and thereby divert attention away from what we hope will be a successful Olympics. By contrast, the Secretary of State is now a toxic Secretary of State with no credibility or integrity. People out there in the court of public opinion say that they do not want him as the leading light on the Olympics. He should do the honourable thing and go.

People have said that the Secretary of State came here with the utmost honesty and integrity, but I have to pay the utmost attention to the people who are responsible for bringing this whole thing out, my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson), my hon. Friend the Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant), who is no longer in his place, and my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Paul Farrelly), who were terrific in how they analysed the information available to the Culture, Media and Sport Committee and managed to get it out of the Secretary of State and other senior politicians in the Conservative Government. I think that the Secretary of State should do the honourable thing and resign in order to give someone a clear opportunity to take us into the Olympics and ensure that they are a success.

[Several hon. Members]

rose—