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DELEGATED LEGISLATION
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 118(6)(Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
That the Naval Discipline Act 1957 (Remedial) Order 2004 (S.I., 2004, No. 66), dated 14th January 2004, a copy of which was laid before this House on 15th January, be approved.—[Vernon Coaker.]
Question agreed to.
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 118(6)(Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
That the draft Army, Air Force and Naval Discipline Acts (Continuation) Order 2004, which was laid before this House on 26th February, be approved.—[Vernon Coaker.]
Question agreed to.
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 118(6)(Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
That the draft Cash Ratio Deposits (Value Bands and Ratios) Order 2004, which was laid before this House on 3rd March, be approved.—[Vernon Coaker.]
Question agreed to.
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 118(6)(Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
That the Customs and Excise Duties (Travellers' Allowances and Personal Reliefs) (New Member States) Order 2004 (S.I., 2004, No. 1002), dated 1st April, a copy of which was laid before this House on 1st April, be approved.—[Vernon Coaker.]
Question agreed to.
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Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 118(6)(Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
That the draft Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (Immunities and Privileges) Order 2004, which was laid before this House on 19th April, be approved.—[Vernon Coaker.]
Question agreed to.
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 118(6)(Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
That the draft European Communities (Definition of Treaties) (Agreement on Enlargement of the European Economic Area) Order 2004, which was laid before this House on 26th April, be approved.—[Vernon Coaker.]
Question agreed to.
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Standing Order No. 119(9)(Standing Committees on Delegated Legislation),
That this House takes note of European Union Document No. 15494/03, draft Directive on batteries and accumulators and spent batteries and accumulators; supports the Government's intention to welcome the draft Directive and supports the Government's aim of securing legislation that achieves a high level of environmental protection and harmonisation of the single market, at lowest cost, taking a risk-based and proportional approach, and of ensuring that final collection and recycling targets for spent portable batteries and accumulators are challenging, but achievable.—[Vernon Coaker.]
Question agreed to.
Ordered,
That the Education (Pupil Exclusions) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) Regulations 2004 (S.I., 2004, No. 402), dated 23rd February 2004, be referred to a Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation.—[Vernon Coaker.]
Northern Ireland Affairs
Ordered,
That Mr Peter Robinson be discharged from the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee and Mr Gregory Campbell be added.—[Mr. John McWilliam, on behalf of the Committee of Selection.]
Transport
Ordered,
That Mr Gregory Campbell be discharged from the Transport Committee and Mr Jeffrey M. Donaldson be added.—[Mr. John McWilliam, on behalf of the Committee of Selection.]
4 May 2004 : Column 1310
Data Protection Legislation
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Vernon Coaker.]
9.55 pm
Mr. Nick Hawkins (Surrey Heath) (Con): May I start with the happy task of congratulating the Minister most sincerely on his recent engagement to be married, and wish him and his fiancée every happiness for the future?
Before I come to the specific issue relating to data protection and the Information Commissioner Mr. Richard Thomas's advice on how that affects all hon. Members, I thank you, Mr. Speaker, for your kind and sympathetic advice about how these issues, and what led up to them, could best be presented to the House. In particular, I thank very many of my right hon. and hon. Friends for their friendship, help and support. I will not, however, take any interventions, as I have quite a lot of ground to cover.
I have perhaps made some errors of judgment—to which I shall return—as we all do being human, but I have not made any mistakes about my parliamentary friends. I thank in particular my hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup (Derek Conway), and my right hon. Friends the Members for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague), for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe), for West Dorset (Mr. Letwin), and for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis)—I have worked directly for all of them on the Front Bench in recent years—for all their strong support. I also thank in particular my right hon. Friend the Member for Penrith and The Border (David Maclean), our Chief Whip, and other Whips, some of whom are here tonight, and most particularly, of course, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard), the Leader of the Opposition, whom I am proud to serve as a shadow Minister, both for keeping me in that position and for helping me to rebut some of the outrageous slurs, smears and character assassination that some of my local opponents have seen fit to put in the national and local press.
I have been accused, among other things, of racism, despite all the many speeches I have made and the work that I have done in the House over the past 12 and a bit years, and for many years before that with many groups representing ethnic minorities as varied as the Ahmadiyya Muslims—one of whose UK leaders is one of my lifelong friends—as well as with Greek Cypriots, and Taiwanese and Caribbean groups. I am glad to say that many hon. Members on both sides of the House have made it clear to me that they never accepted for one moment that allegation. I have also been accused of not being a team player. That is almost just as hurtful to someone such as me who has been so passionate about team sports all my life.
The very good news for my party and its leadership is that, in future, a lot of matters will change and the huge surge in support and in fund raising that has come about, particularly in recent times since my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe became leader of my party, will mean that there will be no need for any reliance to be placed on some of the disreputable matters and dubious people whom I
4 May 2004 : Column 1311
will mention later. I should also stress that I firmly believe that, if only my right hon. Friend the Member for Haltemprice and Howden had been able to remain chairman of my party for just a little while longer, he would have continued the remedial work that he had already begun, and what has recently happened to me could not then have occurred.
Throughout the recent process in my constituency party, I was advised—I am sure correctly—by some of the leading media experts in my party to concentrate entirely on the positive aspects of what I have sought to do in my 12 and a bit years so far in the House: my work for constituents and for my party. That of course includes dealing with such issues as data protection, the subject of the debate. I did that and I replied as little as possible to the smears and allegations that were peddled against me.
In a Parliament of more than 650 Members, there are perhaps only 10 or so on each side of the House who will ever become household names among the general public, and known outside their own area or outside the circle of political aficionados. Of the other 630 or so, even if, like me, they have been shadow Ministers for a number of years, all the rest are in the category of those memorably described—
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