Review of House of Commons Proceedures Police Raid of Damian Green MP's Office — Committee to Investigate Immediately — rejected — 8 Dec 2008 at 17:34

The majority of MPs voted against immediately starting the proceedings of a committee of MPs to investigate the House of Commons procedures in light of the seizure by the police of material belonging to Damian Green MP. The majority of MPs opted instead for the committee to wait for the conclusion of any inquiry or proceedings.

The majority of MPs voted against an amendment which would have changed the motion under consideration from:

  • That, following the search of a Member's office in the Parliamentary Estate by the police and the seizure of material therein, a committee be appointed to review the internal processes of the House administration for granting permission for such action, and to make recommendations for the future;
  • That the committee must not in any way prejudice any police inquiry or potential criminal proceedings and that therefore it will be adjourned immediately after choosing a chairman until the completion of any relevant inquiry or proceedings that may follow;
  • That the committee have power to send for persons, papers and records; to report from time to time; to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House; and
  • That the committee consist of seven members appointed by the Speaker reflecting the composition of the House.

To:

  • That, following the search of a Member's office in the Parliamentary Estate by the police and the seizure of material therein, a committee be appointed to review the internal processes of the House administration for granting permission for such action, and to investigate all the circumstances, including Ministerial, official and police actions, which led to the search, and to review the applicable rules and procedures of the House and to make recommendations;
  • That the committee have power to send for persons, papers and records; to report from time to time; to sit notwithstanding any adjournment of the House; and
  • That the Committee should be bound in its proceedings by the existing resolution of the House on matters of sub judice; and
  • That the committee consist of seven members appointed by the Speaker.

The changes are highlighted in italics.

A key change was to delete a paragraph which said that the committee must adjourn as soon as it has chosen a chairman until after all the police inquiries have concluded.

The rejected amendment also sought to extend the scope of the committee's remit to include ministerial, official and police actions.

Debate in Parliament | Source |

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Party Summary

Votes by party, red entries are votes against the majority for that party.

What is Tell? '+1 tell' means that in addition one member of that party was a teller for that division lobby.

What are Boths? An MP can vote both aye and no in the same division. The boths page explains this.

What is Turnout? This is measured against the total membership of the party at the time of the vote.

PartyMajority (No)Minority (Aye)BothTurnout
Con0 183 (+1 tell)095.3%
Independent1 3066.7%
Independent Labour0 10100.0%
Lab283 (+2 tell) 29190.0%
LDem0 57 (+1 tell)092.1%
PC0 2066.7%
Respect0 10100.0%
SNP0 4057.1%
Total:284 280191.2%

Rebel Voters - sorted by party

MPs for which their vote in this division differed from the majority vote of their party. You can see all votes in this division, or every eligible MP who could have voted in this division

Sort by: Name | Constituency | Party | Vote

NameConstituencyPartyVote
Diane AbbottHackney North and Stoke NewingtonLabaye
Charles ClarkeNorwich SouthLabaye
Frank CookStockton NorthLab (minister)aye
Jeremy CorbynIslington NorthLabaye
Paul FarrellyNewcastle-under-LymeLab (minister)aye
Frank FieldBirkenheadLab (minister)aye
Mark FisherStoke-on-Trent CentralLabaye
Paul FlynnNewport WestLab (minister)aye
Ian GibsonNorwich NorthLab (minister)aye
John GroganSelbyLab (minister)aye
Fabian HamiltonLeeds North EastLab (minister)aye
Dai HavardMerthyr Tydfil and RhymneyLab (minister)aye
Kate HoeyVauxhallLab (minister)aye
Kelvin HopkinsLuton NorthLab (minister)aye
Glenda JacksonHampstead and HighgateLabaye
Lynne JonesBirmingham, Selly OakLab (minister)aye
Andrew MacKinlayThurrockLab (minister)aye
Denis MacShaneRotherhamLabaye
Robert Marshall-AndrewsMedwayLabaye
John Martin McDonnellHayes and HarlingtonLabaye
Gordon PrenticePendleLab (minister)aye
Alan SimpsonNottingham SouthLabaye
Peter SoulsbyLeicester SouthLab (minister)aye
Gisela StuartBirmingham, EdgbastonLab (minister)aye
Paul TruswellPudseyLabaye
Keith VazLeicester EastLab (minister)aye
Alan WilliamsSwansea WestLab (minister)aye
David WinnickWalsall NorthLab (minister)aye
Tony WrightCannock ChaseLab (minister)aye
Geraldine SmithMorecambe and LunesdaleLab (minister)both

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