Points of Order

Tonia Antoniazzi Excerpts

Monday 23rd April 2018 Commons Chamber

[Tonia Antoniazzi (Gower) (Lab)]

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. It concerns a question posed by the hon. Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) during Prime Minister’s Question Time last week. I ask for your advice and guidance on this matter. On that occasion, the hon. Gentleman asked the Prime Minister:

“Does she believe that the honourable thing would be for the new incumbent of that seat to resign and fight a free and honest by-election?”—[Official Report, 18 April 2018; Vol. 639, c. 322.]

I have many issues with that statement, Mr Speaker, and I look to you for guidance on what steps I can take to defend myself against these slurs. I was not informed that the hon. Gentleman would be mentioning me in the Chamber, and I was not present to defend myself when the comments were made. As a direct result of the accusatory tone of the question, I have now been a victim of online abuse through Twitter and via e-mail. My honour and reputation have been called into question by the comments that have been made.

I have never condoned, and would never condone, the spreading of lies and untruths about a political opponent or any other person, and nor would anyone on my team. I worked extremely hard to win the election fair and square, and I will not allow anyone to imply anything different.

[Mr Speaker]

I am most grateful to the hon. Lady for her point of order, and for her courtesy of giving me notice of it. I think I am right in saying that, by e-mail, she alerted the hon. Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double) of her intention to raise this matter.

Let me say to the hon. Lady, and, indeed, to the House, that it is an important convention for Members to inform each other if they intend to make personally critical remarks—not expressions of disagreement appertaining to policy, but personally critical remarks—about colleagues in the Chamber. She has succeeded in putting her view of the matter clearly on the record, and if she is concerned that the original allegation will have been widely circulated, I know that she will now do her level best to ensure that what she regards as her correction of the record is equally widely circulated.

This was a proper use of a point of order, which in itself is a relative novelty—not from the hon. Lady, but from any Member of the House. I thank her for what she has said.