To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Prime Minister, rather than the responsible secretaries of state, announced the recent payments of taxpayers' money to banks and car manufacturers; and to what extent that took account of the Prime Minister's status as primus inter pares.[HL1148]

My right honourable friends the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform made Statements to Parliament on 19 January 2009 (Official Report, col. 483) and 27 January 2009 (Official Report, col. 177) respectively.