CONTEMPT OF HOUSE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26607, 1 November 1947, Page 7

CONTEMPT OF HOUSE

LABOUR MEMBER EXPELLED PAYMENT FOR NEWSPAPER ARTICLES LONDON, Oct. 30. The House of Commons, without a division, agreed on a motion that Mr Garry Allighan, Labour member for Gravesend, and Mr Arthur Heighway, editor and director of the World’s Press News, formerly of New Zealand, were guilty of gross contempt of the House. The House was crowded when Government motions arising from reports of the Committee of Privileges on Mr Allighan and Mr Evelyn Walkden (Labour, Doncaster) came up for consideration. The Speaker called to the Bar of the House Arthur Heighway. The Speaker said Heighway’s apology to the Committee of Privileges-was completely inadequate. Heighway, standing to attention, then said he alone accepted responsibility for publishing an article by AlligVin alleging that newspapers made payment to members for information about party and other private meetings. Heighway sincerely apologised for it. Allighan, speaking from the back bench, said he had not intended deliberately to insult the House. There was no excuse for what he had done. He apologised for an unfounded allegation of insobriety against unnamed members, and asked the House to accept a sincere apology. He now relied on the humanity of the House after “months of mental torture.” Breaches of Confidence

He did not feel that receiving payment for articles about party meetings involved bribery. There never had been any thought of bribery on the part of the newspapers. He pleaded guilty to breaches of confidence, although not necessarily to breaches of parliamentary law. He hoped the House would discharge him from the charge of bribery, and regard it as a departure from the high standard of parliamentary conduct in reporting information which he was expected to keep secret. He had decided to end that situation, and had taken the necessary steps to implement that decision. Allighan then withdrew and Mr Herbert Morrison moved that Heighway and Allighan be guilty of gross contempt of the House, which was agreed to without division.

Mr Morrison said he thought the committee had gone too far in its opinion that’ the law of privilege applied to party meetings within the precincts of the palace of Westminster. The only safe course was to take as a crucial test whether the member concerned was acting in a parliamentary capacity in the sense of doing something specifically related to actual proceedings of Parliament.

The House carried by 198 votes to 101 a motion affirming that Allighan was guilty of dishonourable conduct, which deserved to be severely punished.

Mr Morrison next moved that Allighan be reprimanded and suspcsided for six months and that his salary as a member be suspended for the peroid. Mr Churchill said this could not be justified. Allighan should be expelled, and his constituency given the opportunity to approve or disapprove .his conduct. , The House carried by 187. votes to 75 -the amendment that Allighan should be expelled. Mr Quentin Hogg (Con., Oxford) moved the amendment after Mr Churchill raised the joint that suspending Allighan would mean unfairly suspending his constituents. Editor Reprimanded

Heighway was then recalled to the Bar of the House and the Speaker reprimanded him. . Allighan’s expulsion will necessitate a by-election at Gravesend which he won from the Conservatives in 1945. The last expulsion from the House was in 1922. when Horatio Bottomley was gaoled for fraud. Expulsion, however, does not carry with it permanent disqualification from membership of ' the House. John Wilkes, who was expelled in 1764 for being the author of seditious libel, was reelected five years later. He was expelled again for another libel, but wa# again re-elected. Mr Morrison, dealing with the case of Evelyn Walkden, said the Government did not recommend the House should find Walkden guilty of a breach of privilege on the grounds relied upon by the committee. He moved that Walkden be guilty of dishonourable conduct and deserved to be severely punished. Mr Morrison’s motion provided for the future banning from the House precincts of representatives of any newspaper or agency involved where any member is found guilty of corruptly accepting payment for disclosing confidential information. The Committee of Privileges found Evelyn Walkden guilty of breach of privilege 'in connection with his disclosure of information to the London Evening News, for which' it was said he received £5 a week. Mr Morrison announced that the Government proposed Walkden should be reprimanded. The House carried a motion by-152 votes to 92 that Walkden be guilty of dishonourable conduct. Walkden re-entered the chamber, took his place, and the Speaker reprimanded him..