Sir Lindsay Hoyle accused the government of committing a “blatant breach” of the ministerial code over how it released details of a major defence review on Monday, 2 June.
The Speaker took exception to details of the strategic defence review (SDR) being briefed out over the weekend and Sir Keir Starmer holding a media event several hours before the document was published in Parliament.
Making it clear that the House of Commons, rather than the media, should be informed first, Sir Lindsay said of Labour: “This shows complete disregard for the House and for the honourable members.”
“The government appears to have breached the principle set out in paragraph 9.1 of the ministerial code – that when Parliament is in session, the most important announcements of government policy should be made in the first instance in Parliament.”
