PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE RELATING
TO THE REPORT
TUESDAY
30 OCTOBER
2001
Members present:
Sir George Young, in the Chair
| Peter Bottomley | Mr Andrew Dismore
|
| Mr Russell Brown | Mr Michael Jabez Foster
|
| Ross Cranston |
|
* * *
Draft Report [Complaint against Mr John Maxton],
proposed by the Chairman, brought up and read.
Ordered, That the draft
Report be read a second time, paragraph by paragraph.
Paragraphs 1 read and agreed to.
Paragraph 2 read, as follows:
"We have considered the further information
which the Commissioner has placed before us, which includes a
letter which Mr Maxton wrote to the General Secretary of the Scottish
Labour Party on 10 November 1999. After a thorough examination
of this information, and after careful consideration of the Commissioner's
recommendation that we take oral evidence on oath from Mr Maxton
and several other possible witnesses, we have concluded that the
evidential value of that which is now available to us, and which
was not available to the former Committee, is not sufficient to
justify a review of the conclusions which our predecessors reached
in the Report on the original complaint against Mr Maxton, which
was extensively investigated by the Commissioner and where our
predecessors rightly criticised the role of the press. We also
felt that little purpose would be served by calling witnesses
before us. Accordingly we have decided not to take this matter
any further."
Amendment proposed, in line 3, to leave out from
"1999" to the end of the paragraph and add the words
"The Committee invites Mr John Maxton, Ms Lesley Quinn,
Mr John Rowan, Mr Chris Winslow and Mr Jonathan Upton to give
oral evidence on these matters."—(Peter Bottomley.)
Question put, That the Amendment be made.
The Committee divided.
| Ayes, 1 | Noes, 4
|
| Peter Bottomley | Mr Russell Brown
|
| Ross Cranston |
| Mr Andrew Dismore |
| Mr Michael Jabez Foster |
Paragraph agreed to.
Paragraph 3 read and agreed to.
Resolved, That the Report
be the Third Report of the Committee to the House.
Ordered, That the Chairman
do make the Report to the House.
Ordered, That the memorandum
from the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards be appended
to the Report.
Ordered, That the Appendix
to the Report be reported to the House.—(The Chairman.)
* * *
[Adjourned till Tuesday 6 November
at half-past Ten o'clock.
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