Monday 23rd May 2011

(13 years, 6 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

Dominic Grieve Portrait The Attorney-General
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Scotland enjoys and has always enjoyed a separate legal system. It follows that orders made by the courts of England and Wales, generally speaking, do not have application there, although there are at times some exceptions.

John Hemming Portrait John Hemming (Birmingham, Yardley) (LD)
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With about 75,000 people having named Ryan Giggs on Twitter, it is obviously impracticable to imprison them all, and with reports that Giles Coren also faces imprisonment—

John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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Order. Let me just say to the hon. Gentleman—although I know that he has already done it—that occasions such as this are for raising the issues of principle involved, not for seeking to flout orders for whatever purpose. If the hon. Gentleman wants to finish his question in an orderly way, he may do so.

John Hemming Portrait John Hemming
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The question is, what is the Government’s view on the enforceability of a law that clearly does not have public consent?

Dominic Grieve Portrait The Attorney-General
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It is our duty as parliamentarians to uphold the rule of law.