Letter to the Chairman ot the Committee
from the Clerk of the House
I am writing to you to comment on one specific
matter in my evidence to the Committee concerning the circumstances
in which I learned of the arrest of Mr Green on the afternoon
of 27 November 2008 referred to, in passing, in the recent evidence
of the Serjeant-at-Arms.
The Committee will know from the evidence it
has before it, that I had not been consulted either by the then
Speaker or the Serjeant that day, nor had I had any contact with
the police throughout the period of the events being examined.
I had no knowledge of the events of that morning. On that afternoon,
while working on my computer screen, the television was on in
my office as I was following the news. I usually do so on the
Sky News channel. My secretary recollects that on learning
of that particular matter, I rushed out of my office into the
adjoining room and asked her to find the Serjeant at once.
To the best of my knowledge and belief, I saw
the matter on Sky News but I accept that is possible I
saw it on another channel. At all events, I confirm the material
point of my evidence that before that time I had no knowledge
of the events of the morning, or of Mr Green's arrest, and on
learning about it summoned the Serjeant-at-Arms at once.
Malcolm Jack
Clerk of the House & Chief Executive
11 December 2009
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