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Madam Speaker: That is not a point of order for me. I remind the hon. Gentleman, first, that I am not prepared to discuss security matters across the Floor of the House, and secondly, that cars in Belfast are not a matter of parliamentary business.
Peter Nevile Wake Jennings Esq, CVO
2 pm
The President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mrs. Margaret Beckett): I beg to move,
- That this House expresses its appreciation of Peter Nevile Wake Jennings Esq, CVO for his 47 years distinguished public service, including four years as Serjeant at Arms, and extends to him its best wishes for his retirement.
Peter Jennings' career in public service is quite neatly divided. He spent 24 years in the Royal Marines, and 23 in the service of the House. I am not entirely sure how much life has changed in the Royal Marines since 1952--probably rather less than life in the House of Commons has changed since he joined us in 1976, a few years before most Members present for the debate today will have been elected.
When Peter Jennings came to work here, Members operated--usually not from choice--from areas such as the Cloisters. Hon. Members who had offices of their own were a select breed, as were those who were lucky enough to share an office. I myself was fortunate, as a new Member, to share one with a distinguished colleague who is now the Government's Chief Whip.
There have been vast improvements in the House's accommodation over the years and perhaps the culmination of those improvements, Portcullis house, is now near completion. Many in the House's service will have had a hand in that project, but the Serjeant does and should feel a proper pride that the development was built on his watch, so to speak, and particularly that it is now expected to come in on time and under budget. It is very much a memento of his service that as we come to the end of the 20th century, the House at last has been provided with a building fit for the modern age.
The House will know also that Peter Jennings has been the force behind the achievement of a smaller building project--again at the direction of the House. In May this year, there was a vote to hold sittings in Westminster Hall. It is easy for hon. Members to forget that we make decisions of this kind, and sometimes we overlook the vast amount of work necessary to enable them to be carried to fruition. Certainly, it is easier to overlook the scale of that work because of the sang froid that the Serjeant and his Department showed in reacting to a major change in their carefully worked out programme and to bringing forward works which had been planned to take place only in future years.
The outcome of our decision compelled the officers of the House to tear up expenditure plans after the onset of the financial year and to completely refit one of the major rooms in the Palace. It is a real and concrete tribute to the leadership of the Serjeant at Arms that the work was successfully completed in the time available, and again under budget. I know that many hon. Members on both sides feel that he presided over a smaller, but no less significant, reform, in the replacement of the House of Commons barber by a House of Commons hairdresser.
Members are aware of how seriously the House has always taken its links with other Parliaments. Wehave always been particularly concerned to promote co-operation between Commonwealth Parliaments, and to ensure that we have the opportunity to learn from one another. Peter Jennings was instrumental in ensuring that co-operation extended to Serjeants at Arms across the Commonwealth.
The first Commonwealth Serjeants at Arms conference was held in 1994 and the second in August 1999, with over 30 such Serjeants gathered together. That is, at first sight, a rather unnerving thought, given the Serjeants' tradition of carrying a sword. However, I am told that the only remarkable aspect was that the Serjeant from Tonga wore his country's customary dress of a skirt, unlike our own dear Serjeants, who wear tights.
Sir George Young (North-West Hampshire):
On behalf of the Opposition, I join the Leader of the House in her tribute to Peter Jennings, the 36th Serjeant at Arms since the post was established in 1415. During the 23 years that he has been here, there has been a quiet revolution in the way that the House operates, including a major improvement in the quality of accommodation; a huge extension of the security precautions; a big increase in the number of people working here and visiting Parliament; the introduction of broadcasting and new information technology; and, as the Leader of the House remarked, a major building and renovation programme. The House decided on all those changes, but they had to be implemented, which required a range of skills, from project management to people management. The Serjeant had those skills. He has overseen the successful introduction of those reforms for which the whole House is indebted to him. Behind the scenes, the Serjeant has also had to defuse many other issues, which mercifully never reach the public eye.
Mr. Paul Tyler (North Cornwall):
I am delighted to endorse this motion on behalf of my right hon. and hon. Friends and on behalf of several other parties represented in the House. As the Leader of the House said, the motion is endorsed by the leading members of eight parties, and that demonstrates the wide respect and appreciation that we all feel for Mr. Jennings.
As the Leader of the House and the right hon. Member for North-West Hampshire (Sir G. Young) mentioned, the changes that have taken place during Mr. Jennings'
service to the House have been dramatic, not least in the security arrangements and the accommodation available to Members and their staff. The Leader of the House mentioned the accommodation she had when she first came to the House. When I was first elected, I had the end of a table in a room with seven Glaswegian Labour Members of Parliament. They did not understand a Cornishman and I did not understand them. The one telephone was nearest to my part of the room and I had to take messages on behalf of them all.
Mr. Tony Benn (Chesterfield):
I wish briefly to add my appreciation. When the House recognises the retirement of the Clerk, Librarian or Serjeant, we are for a moment referring to the people who make the parliamentary family work. I have been here longer than anyone who is present in the Chamber and I remember when I had only a locker, let alone a table. I was told that I could not bring a tape recorder into the House to dictate for my secretary, because that was illegal. I am the only Member of the House to have been kept out by force by the Serjeant when my blood had turned blue. More recently, I accidentally set fire to my room in the House of Commons by tapping out my pipe in my wastepaper basket. I had such a friendly message about it from the Serjeant that I felt really at home.
People outside do not realise the role the Serjeant plays. When a senior Member of Parliament is asked to arrange a meeting and says that he will have to clear it with the Serjeant, people from outside wonder who this mysterious person is who appears to run the place. All the room bookings, and the doorkeepers and attendants who keep the place going, are under the supervision of the Serjeant and I wish to express my personal thanks to him.
Mr. Peter Brooke (Cities of London and Westminster):
It is a great privilege to follow the right hon. Member for Chesterfield (Mr. Benn). My credentials for speaking are that Mr. Jennings is my constituent. I am extremely proud of all my constituents, but I am especially proud of Mr. Jennings for all the reasons that have been adduced by other right hon. and hon. Members in this debate.
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