Search Results

1-15 of 15 results for subject:"Meyer, Christopher"

Show detailed: On Off

Results: 10 20 50 100

Sort by: Newest first Oldest first

Privacy and injunctions. Evidence 14 November 2011. (Vote)

Type

House of Commons papers; Select Committee oral evidence; Parliamentary committees

Committee

Joint Committee on Privacy and Injunctions

Date

14 November 2011

Reference

HC 1443-v 2010-12

House

House of Commons

Treatment of asylum seekers Minutes of evidence 22 January 2007. (Printed in HC 60)

Type

House of Commons papers; Select Committee oral evidence; Parliamentary committees

Committee

Joint Committee on Human Rights

Date

22 January 2007

Reference

HC 60-iv 2006-07

House

House of Commons; House of Lords

Foreign policy aspects of the war against terrorism. Minutes of evidence 19 April 2006. (Printed in HC 573)

Type

House of Commons papers; Select Committee oral evidence; Parliamentary committees

Committee

Foreign Affairs Committee

Date

19 April 2006

Reference

HC 573-vi 2005-06

House

House of Commons

SIR CHRISTOPHER MEYER'S MEMOIRS

That this House deplores Sir Christopher Meyer's indiscretions in his book about his time as HM Government's Ambassador to the US; notes with concern that the Government appears to have taken no action to enforce the rules governing the conduct of civil servants; and calls on the Government to introduce...

Primary sponsor

Daniel Kawczynski (Conservative)

Type

Early day motions

Date

14 March 2006

Reference

1810

House

House of Commons

Sir Christopher Meyer

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2005, Official Report, columns 164–66W, on Sir Christopher Meyer, if he will place in the Library copies of (a) all relevant correspondence from (i) Sir Christopher Meyer and (ii) his publishers and...

Asked by

Gordon Prentice (Labour)

Answering body

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

19 December 2005

Reference

37878; 440 c2492W

House

House of Commons

Publication of political memoirs. Minutes of evidence 15 December 2005. (Printed in HC 689)

Type

House of Commons papers; Select Committee oral evidence; Parliamentary committees

Committee

Public Administration Select Committee

Date

15 December 2005

Reference

HC 689-ii 2005-06

House

House of Commons

Sir Christopher Meyer

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who was responsible for vetting Sir Christopher Meyer's recent book and giving the approval for publication; and if he will make a statement.

Asked by

Gordon Prentice (Labour)

Answering body

Cabinet Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

30 November 2005

Reference

440 c589-90W;440 c589W; 29403

House

House of Commons

Press Complaints Commission: Chairmanship

Whether they have expressed a view on the future chairmanship of the Press Complaints Commission.

Asked by

Lord Dykes (Liberal Democrat)

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

30 November 2005

Reference

2475; 676 c53WA

House

House of Lords

Sir Christopher Meyer

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Sir Christopher Meyer submitted the manuscript of his recent book to his Department for (a) comment and (b) clearance; and if he will make a statement.

Asked by

Gordon Prentice (Labour)

Answering body

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Tabled on

7 November 2005

For answer on

9 November 2005

Answered on

28 November 2005

Under the diplomatic service regulations, which are based on home civil service codes of conduct, all former ambassadors remain bound by a continuing duty of confidentiality after they have left Crown employment. The regulations require that former members of the diplomatic service should consult their Department before writing memoirs based on their experience and should submit any part of them which draws on official information or experience for clearance by their Department before publication. Departments are required to assess texts for any harm to national security or defence; international relations; and confidential relationships within Government. The first two categories are based on the Official Secrets Act. The third category broadly reflects the common law of confidence. These categories were established in 1976 following the Report of the Committee of Privy Counsellors on Ministerial Memoirs chaired by Lord Radcliffe, which also set a period of 15 years for maintaining confidences within Government. In practice there is a high threshold to establish a breach of the regulations, which are based as much upon well established conventions and standards of conduct expected of all civil servants as on actual legal obligation.In the case of Sir Christopher Meyer's memoirs, there was no prior consultation by the author with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) before he entered into a commitment with a publisher and began writing. Following the appearance of a trailer for the book on the Amazon website in May, Sir Christopher Meyer was contacted by the FCO, reminded of the publication rules and repeatedly asked to submit his text to the Department when completed. In the event his book was only submitted to the Cabinet Secretary for comment by his publisher on 7 October, some four weeks before planned publication on 10 November.The Cabinet Office sent a copy of the book to the FCO and both Departments reviewed it against the standard criteria for clearing publications under the rules. The judgment, with which I agreed, was made on the particular facts of this case that no changes should be sought primarily because the book posed no national security risk; it contained nothing substantially new which we judged would harm relations with the US; and nothing was specifically identified that was considered so damaging as to require consideration of legal action.However, in his letter of 4 November to the publisher, the Cabinet Secretary made it clear that, while the Government had no comments to make on the book, it was disappointing that a former diplomat should disclose confidences gained as a result of his employment. The Cabinet Secretary stated that it was not the Government's responsibility to check the accuracy of remarks attributed to individuals in the book and emphasised that his response should not be taken to indicate any form of official or unofficial approval of the book. A copy of the Cabinet Secretary's letter has been placed in the Library of the House.By deciding to write and publish this book, Sir Christopher Meyer has broken the trust placed in him as a former servant of the Crown. As I have already said publicly, it is completely unacceptable for former senior civil servants or diplomats to break such trust in this way. It undermines the key relationship between civil servants and Ministers. It is greatly to be regretted that Sir Christopher Meyer has chosen to reveal the substance of conversations with individuals at the centre of sensitive issues, especially as those individuals would not have expected that information to be revealed so soon after the event or in such terms. His disclosures fall well below the standard of discretion expected of former Officials and the conventions set out in the Radcliffe report.I note from the comment on this book to date that this view is shared across a very wide political and public spectrum. It has also led to very great concern among the whole of the diplomatic service. The General Secretary of the PDA—the senior civil and public servants' union—has described the book as utterly wrong and a fundamental breach of trust and confidentiality. The Chairman of the Diplomatic Service Association has called Sir Christopher Meyer's action in publishing"““wholly inconsistent with the high standards of professionalism and integrity of which the service is and should be justifiably proud.””"As many have said, including their noble Lords on 17 November 2005, Official Report, columns 1187–89, this case calls into question the effectiveness of current publication rules, which depend for much of their effect on norms of conduct and behaviour rather than laws. I am currently examining the relevant diplomatic service regulations with a view to making changes so as to ensure that they more accurately reflect the overall purpose of the regulations and conventions in this field. I hope to make an announcement soon. There is also a wider Government review under way as well as one by the Public Administration Select Committee.

Date

28 November 2005

Reference

26840; 440 c164-6W;440 c164-6W

House

House of Commons

Sir Christopher Meyer

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his recent letter to Sir Christopher Meyer was sent in his official capacity; and if he will place a copy in the Library.

Asked by

Andrew Turner (Conservative)

Answering body

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

28 November 2005

Reference

440 c212W;440 c212W; 31539

House

House of Commons

Sir Christopher Meyer

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his call for Sir Christopher Meyer to resign as head of the Press Complaints Commission (a) was made in his ministerial capacity and (b) represents Government policy.

Asked by

Andrew Turner (Conservative)

Answering body

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

28 November 2005

Reference

440 c166W;440 c166W; 31620

House

House of Commons

Sir Christopher Meyer

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether the statements of the Deputy Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary on Sir Christopher Meyer's diaries and his Chairmanship of the Press Complaints Commission represent her policy.

Asked by

Andrew Turner (Conservative)

Answering body

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Type

Written questions

Status

Answered

Date

24 November 2005

Reference

439 c2229W;439 c2227W; 31538

House

House of Commons

SIR CHRISTOPHER MEYER

That this House deplores the publication of `DC Confidential' by Sir Christopher Meyer; regrets that a former senior ambassador should break the long-standing conventions against such publication; is dismayed at the betrayal of trust in the promulgation of such scurrilous memoirs; recognises the real damage caused to the essential relationships...

Primary sponsor

Alan Keen (Labour; Co-operative Party)

Type

Early day motions

Date

22 November 2005

Reference

1081

House

House of Commons

Civil Servants: Publication of Memoirs

My Lords, does my noble friend agree that the publication of Sir Christopher Meyer’s memoirs—DC Confidential—represents a serious breach of confidence which now makes his position as chairman of the Press Complaints Commission entirely untenable? As trust between Ministers and civil servants is vital for good government, will he and his colleagues now review and enforce the rules for both civil servants and Ministers?

Asked by

Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Labour)

Oral questions - 1st Supplementary

Status

Answered

Date

17 November 2005

Reference

675 c1187

House

House of Lords

Deposited Paper DEP 05/1470

Deposited by

Cabinet Office

Type

Deposited papers

Date

4 November 2005

Reference

DEP 05/1470

House

House of Commons

Librarians' tools

Type

House

Session

Year

Department

Member

Primary member

Answering member

Legislative stage

Legislation

Subject

Publisher