PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Points of Order - 20 January 2025 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. You will recall that on Thursday afternoon I led a Backbench Business debate on the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, during which lots of critical comments were made about the MHRA. I specifically made reference to the minutes taken from meetings of the Commission on Human Medicines for the vaccine benefit risk expert working group. On Saturday, following the debate, the MHRA removed the minutes from its website. I should be grateful for your guidance and advice as to what can be done to ensure that those minutes are put back on the website immediately, and without alteration. Surely public bodies should not be using debates in this Chamber as an excuse to remove information that is in the public interest.

I thank the right hon. Lady for giving me advance notice of her point of order. She will appreciate that that is not a matter for the Chair, but she has put a point on the record, and those on the Front Bench will have heard it.

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. On 17 January the world lost possibly Scotland’s greatest ever footballer: Denis Law, who was born in 1940 in Printfield, in my constituency. The youngest of seven children, he did not own a pair of shoes until he was 12 years old—he went barefoot. He played for Huddersfield and Manchester City, but he was known for his time at Manchester United, where he was known as The Lawman and The King. The only Scottish player to have ever won the Ballon d’Or, Denis Law scored in our 1967 victory over England, crowning Scotland the unofficial champions of the world. In more recent years, he created the Denis Law Legacy Trust, which has done an amazing amount for sport in Aberdeen. I wonder whether the House and you, Madam Deputy Speaker, would join me in sending condolences to Denis Law’s family and friends on his sad passing.

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her point of order. That is not a matter for the Chair, but she has most definitely put her remarks on the record.

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Today the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland took the decision not to deploy the Stormont brake, despite it being supported by every Unionist Member in the Northern Ireland Assembly. This Chamber is the only place where the Secretary of State can be challenged and directly questioned by elected representatives. However, rather than making a statement to this House, he decided to give it to the media. Can you advise me on the options available to get the Secretary of State to make a statement on his decision in this place, where he can be questioned?

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving notice of his point of order. I have had no indication that the Secretary of State intends to come to the House to make a statement, but I am sure that the Table Office will be able to advise the hon. Gentleman on how to pursue the matter further.