---

Speaker's Committee on the Search of Offices on the Parliamentary Estate

The situation that we are debating today is serious, and the issues that it raises need to be seriously addressed. If we want parliamentary privilege to be taken seriously by others, we need to address the problems that this case has thrown up. We will not do that if we pursue the course of action taken by Tory Front Benchers—to sidetrack all the debate into scapegoating, finger pointing and blame. The truth is that what happened does not reflect much credit on most of those involved. I suspect that most of them are now feeling, ““If only I'd thought that at the time, I would have done something different.”” However, that does not mean that we will get anywhere by singling out any particular individual for blame. The whole set-up in this place is at fault. We are responsible for the set-up, and therefore responsible for the faults. After the Home Secretary, rightly, got sick and tired of persistent leaks from her private office, she asked for a leak inquiry. Cabinet Office officials rightly set up such an inquiry, and then called in the police. There are clearly plenty of precedents for that.