Public Confidence in the Media and Police

Sajid Javid Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The discussion I had was to ensure that I was not involved in that decision, so I did not discuss it with the Culture Secretary, I did not know about the timing of many of the key announcements—I was not involved. That was the sensible thing to do—conduct in which my predecessors did not necessarily engage.

[Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove) (Con)]

The former Prime Minister, the right hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Mr Brown) said that he wanted to hold an inquiry into phone hacking and journalistic practices, but he astonishingly claimed that civil servants stopped him doing so—presumably the same civil servants who told him not to sell our gold at record low prices. Did the Prime Minister inherit any plans from the previous Government on the inquiry?

[The Prime Minister]

All I can say is that the former Prime Minister’s idea to have the inquiry was never raised with the official Opposition. One of the things that I read in the press in the last couple of days was one of his former colleagues saying that he thought that it was a proposal that Gordon made to himself. [Interruption.]