Speeches by Ghani.

“I do not doubt that the matter is indeed serious, but it is not a point of order or a matter for the Chair, whose powers do not extend to Staffordshire county council. The hon. Member has nonetheless got his very important matter on the record.”

“I call Mark Sewards for the final question.”

“Order. We do not need chuntering from the Back Benches, and I can determine whether the House has or has not been misled.”

“Order. The hon. and learned Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Tony Vaughan) has been here for a while. He was not allowed to make a speech because he was not here at the beginning of the debate, but he has been here for a while.”

“Order. I call Lewis Cocking.”

“Order. For colleagues’ information, I should say that I intend to take everybody, but how long that will take depends on the length of the questions; we could be here for quite some time. Can questions and answers please be short?”

“Order. The speaking limit is now three minutes.”

“I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.”

“Before the Minister responds, and to save another Member from any embarrassment, coming in halfway through a speech and trying to intervene is not acceptable.”

“Order. Just to make sure that the hon. Member does not make a further mistake, I remind her not to mention colleagues by their first name.”

“Order. No “yous”—it is not me responding.”

“Order. The time limit has now dropped to four minutes.”

“Order. To ensure that everyone is able to contribute to the debate, there will be a speaking time limit of eight minutes to begin with, but it will come down further.”

“Order. Interventions should be short and colleagues should have been here at the beginning if they wish to intervene—[Interruption.] I was not here at the beginning, but I do not need any help. Members must have been here at the beginning of the speech of the Member on whom they wish to intervene. Please keep intervent…”

“Order. Before we come to the urgent question on absconded prisoners, I should inform the House that one of the prisoners has been charged with escaping from lawful custody and the matter is now sub judice. Members should therefore avoid references to the specific circumstances of the individual case. Questions on the b…”

“Order. Here is a new year tip: look at your question, cross most of it out, and then continue.”

“The hon. Lady, due to her experience, will know that the Chair is not responsible for the content of Members’ contributions, or those of Ministers—if only we were. She has no doubt got her point on the record, and we do not wish to continue the debate.”

“Order. Colleagues will struggle to get in unless they keep their questions short, and the Minister should make sure that his answers are just as short.”

“I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.”

“I call the Leader of the Opposition.”