---

Parliamentary Standards Bill

My Lords, I am in the happy position of having already secured the support of the Liberal Democrat Benches and of my own Front Bench for this amendment. I hope that it will also have the Government’s support. If a Member is found not to be at fault, and presumably with no blame, he may have incurred unwelcome publicity, in which case he might require the matter to be reported to the Privileges Committee so that it can become a matter of public knowledge. On the other hand, he may feel that the whole thing was a mistake, that there has been no publicity and question why it should go to the Standards and Privileges Committee. It seems to me that it should be his choice. If it has been found that he was not at fault, he can decide whether there should be publicity. I beg to move.