MINISTERS have been urged to back an obscure compromise so Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron can be scrutinised in the House of Commons despite not being an MP.
The cross-party Procedure Committee has recommended in a report published on Wednesday that Lord Cameron should take questions from MPs at the “bar” of the House.
The group of MPs said it was “unusual” for a peer to be serving in such a high-profile Cabinet role after Rishi Sunak resurrected the former prime minister’s political career.
But they said that inviting Lords to appear at the despatch box, from where frontbenchers address the Commons, would “risk blurring the boundaries between the two Houses”.
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Instead, they said that Lord Cameron should appear at the bar, the white line on the Commons floor from behind which visitors must not pass while Parliament is sitting.
To get the Conservative to the bar, MPs would need to back a motion, which would typically be tabled by ministers.
Dame Karen Bradley, the Conservative former cabinet minister who chairs the committee, said: “We hope the Government implements our proposals as quickly as possible, so that MPs can best scrutinise all Secretaries of States on behalf of their constituents.”
Lord Cameron should appear for Foreign Office question time, for statements and urgent questions first in the Commons rather than the Lords, the committee said.
Ministers are yet to say whether they will back the report.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “We will carefully consider the committee’s report and will respond in due course.”
Labour’s shadow Commons leader Lucy Powell said: “This weak and chaotic Government is running scared of Parliament failing to allow MPs to scrutinise the Foreign Secretary.
“This welcome report from the Procedure Committee must be enacted quickly. The Tories have given up on governing, tainting politics with chaos and sleaze.”
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