Examination of Witnesses (Questions 40-46)
MR TOM
SMITH
24 MARCH 2009
Q40 Mr Dismore: But the only place
that date appears is in that e-mail?
Mr Smith: But that is not the
date for when it is going to be ratified.
Q41 Mr Dismore: Of course not, and
that is the point. The Guardian has picked up the date
of 6 March. Where do you think they might have got that date from?
Mr Smith: I have no idea.
Q42 Mr Dismore: How do you
think the leak happened?
Mr Smith: I do not know. The original
Guardian article which prompted my enquiry cited sources
close to the Select Committee, and I do not know who that was
or what that means; but I could guess that would be linked. I
do not know.
Q43 Mr Barron: Who was the author
of the 14 February article?
Mr Smith: I am afraid I do not
know that at the moment, but I could search.
Q44 Mr Barron: What is its content?
I know it is a few weeks away.
Mr Smith: It was hinting at what
the Committee was going to decide. It obviously did not have quotes,
as the later article did; but it was hinting at the discussion
about Lonely Planet and other commercial operations. There
was a standard "sources close to the select committee"
comment.
Q45 Mr Barron: Is that what you thought
you ought to probe at and find out—
Mr Smith: Yes, that was promoted
because obviously my originally thought before that article, if
I had considered it, was that it would be discussed on 12 March
as per the schedule; but obviously that report said it would come
out before the end of February, which was a different timescale.
Q46 Chairman: Is there anything else
you want to say?
Mr Smith: No, thank you.
Chairman: Thank you very much. That concludes
the interview.
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