Public Confidence in the Media and Police

Mark Menzies Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I did not watch “Newsnight”—I do not always catch it—but I think that it is important that the British Prime Minister stands up for British business, British exports and British jobs, and loads up aeroplanes with business men and goes around the world, as I have done, to China, India and Africa. To suggest that because there are issues that you have to answer at home you should cancel a trip like that is talking Britain down, and I think that the Opposition should be better than that.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

In recent days the work of Select Committees has stood the House in good stead and done us proud, but in 2003 a Select Committee warned of a “catalogue of deplorable practices” in the media and of potential payments being made by journalists to the police. In the investigation announced by the Prime Minister, will we go that far back and understand why the advice and warnings of that Select Committee were ignored?

[The Prime Minister]

I am sure the judicial inquiry will do that. One of the issues that it is looking at is the relationship between politicians and the media, and the conduct of both.