Disclosure of Committee's
internal working papers
1. An article which appeared in the Daily Telegraph
on Tuesday 26 June drew heavily on briefing which had been produced
for the Committee by its legal adviser. Describing the legal adviser's
briefing as "a confidential legal analysis", the article,
which identified the adviser by name, quoted his briefing on the
draft mandate for an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on a reform
treaty, which was to be discussed at the European Council 21-22
June. The legal adviser had prepared two briefing notes for the
Committee: the first on 20 June prior to the European Council,
and the second on 25 June following the Council's conclusion.
The newspaper article contained direct quotations from both notes.
The legal adviser's advice was subsequently referred to in the
House during questions to the Foreign Secretary on 3 July by Mr
Graham Brady [1].
2. The legal adviser's briefing was an internal
working paper of the Committee. Its disclosure has had a serious
impact on our work. First, it has the potential to undermine the
ability of its officials to give forthright advice without fear
of that advice being used for political ends. Secondly, because
of the leak, the Committee did not proceed with an item on its
agenda, namely to produce a report on the mandate which the IGC
has been invited to adopt by the European Council. The leak has
therefore had the effect of denying the House the opinion of one
of its committees.
3. In accordance with the procedures laid down
in Erskine May[2] we sought
to discover the source of the leak by formally asking all Members
and staff if they could explain how the leak came about[3].
This investigation has not shed light on how the leak occurred.
We then invited the Liaison Committee to give its views. The Liaison
Committee concurred with our own assessment that the leak had
amounted to substantial interference in the work of the Committee.
4. The Committee takes a serious view of this
matter, and therefore concludes that this Special Report should
be considered and reported on by the Committee on Standards and
Privileges.
1 3 July, Official Report, col.804 Back
2
Parliamentary Practice, Erskine May 23rd edition ed.
Sir William McKay, pp. 776-7. Back
3
The responses are printed as an Appendix to the Report. Back
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