Hinkley Point C Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Peter Bone
Main Page: Peter Bone (Independent - Wellingborough)Department Debates - View all Peter Bone's debates with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
(8 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Greg Clark
I am happy, as always, to meet my hon. Friend, so he can consider the invitation accepted.
Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)
We have an excellent Secretary of State who came to this House and made a full statement. He quite rightly gave the details of the statement to the Opposition and SNP spokesmen, but he also gave them in advance to the BBC. I read all the details on the BBC website. That is not how this House works. It may be that the pressure of spin doctors is still prevalent in Departments. That must stop. The House must be informed first. Does the Secretary of State agree that that is the convention of this House?
Greg Clark
I understand my hon. Friend’s point. I hope that he will concede that I have come to the House at the earliest opportunity. Such decisions have consequences for financial markets, and it is the norm to disclose such decisions at the opening of the markets. He can rest assured—I am sure that he will accept this—that my sense of responsibility to the House is clear in my mind, but the conduct of business must be orderly when it comes to the implications for financial markets.