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Point of Order

Volume 457: debated on Tuesday 20 February 2007

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, the hon. Member for West Chelmsford (Mr. Burns) raised a point of order and drew attention to the fact that I had withdrawn from yesterday’s Order Paper Question 20, which asked whether any questions had been drafted wholly or in part by a member of the ministerial team, and so on. The implication was that Thurrock had been buckled or sat upon by the ministerial team. I want to place it on record that that does not happen in Thurrock, and that the question will be asked again. I withdrew it for the old-fashioned reason of tactics. If it had stayed on the Order Paper, it would have received a written parliamentary reply, whereas I want an oral reply. The lesson is this: the Conservative Opposition is in a parlous state, the Labour party does not just provide the Government—

It is not a point of order. The matter has nothing to do with the Chair. The hon. Gentleman had a bite of the cherry yesterday, and a return match took place today, so we will call it quits.