Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Oral Answers to Questions

Huw Irranca-Davies Excerpts
Tuesday 11th October 2011

(12 years, 7 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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John Bercow Portrait Mr Speaker
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We must now move on.

Huw Irranca-Davies Portrait Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab)
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The country watched in amazement yesterday afternoon and evening as, one by one, apologists for the Secretary of State for Defence explained that the ministerial code was not written in stone. Indeed, it is not; it is written in black and white, so why are the coalition Government trying to rewrite at least the spirit of the ministerial code, if not the letter?

Nick Clegg Portrait The Deputy Prime Minister
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We are not. We are very clear that the ministerial code—[Interruption.] I am very clear, of course, that everybody in this Government should abide by the very highest available standards and by the ministerial code, both the spirit and the letter, and that is exactly what the Cabinet Secretary has been asked to look into and to adjudicate on in his report.