PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
CONDUCT OF MR ROD LIDDLE (29 January 2004)

That this House calls on Mr Rod Liddle to apologise to Lord Hutton for impugning his reputation on Sky television since if the report had criticised the Government, no doubt Mr Liddle would have accepted its conclusions; notes that, the report having entirely vindicated the Government, Mr Liddle described the report as 'surreal' and that he further said that judicial enquiries always end up backing the Government; believes that this is a slur on Lord Hutton's reputation, integrity and record; calls on Mr Liddle to withdraw those comments, admit the report was independent and have the good grace to recognise its findings were based on the evidence; hopes that this report will mark a watershed in relations between politicians and the media, moving to a debate based on respect for each other's opinions and adherence to the facts; and further hopes that the rest of the media will not follow the example of Mr Liddle, who hired Mr Andrew Gilligan and was largely responsible for creating the culture of the Today Programme which was so strongly criticised by Lord Hutton.

Sponsored by:
James Purnell (Labour)