COMMITTEE ON PRIVILEGES

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25180, 10 May 1947, Page 9

COMMITTEE ON PRIVILEGES

CHURCHILL’S resignation ACCEPTED (Rec. 7 p.m.) LONDON, May 8. Mr Winstbn Churchill has resigned from the Privileges Committee of the House of Commons, the body which deals with alleged offences by or against members, and questions affecting the rights of Parliament. Mr Churchill, in a letter to the Prime Minister (Mr C. R. Attlee), said he felt he should withdraw because neither Mr Attlee nor the leader of the House (Mr Herbert Morrison) would in future serve on the committee, and the authority of the committee had been lowered. He added that he would nominate an experienced Conservative member to fill the vacancy. Mr Attlee, accepting Mr Churchill’s resignation with regret, replied that he could not agree that the committee’s prestige had been lowered. He added that the present position also existed in 1942.

Mr Churchill replied that the position in 1942 arose under the stress of war, and afforded no precedent The “Daily Telegraph,” commenting on Mr Churchill’s resignation from the committee, said that two Labour back-benchers were substituted when Mr Morrison and Mr F. Montague, both with long experience, left the committee. The Lord Privy Seal (Mr Arthur Greenwood) now presides over the committee, which includes Sir David Maxwell-Fyfe and Earl Winton (Conservatives) .