Government ministers yesterday faced criticism from eight Conservative MPs for failing to give full answers about the activities of their departments.

The most vocal of complaints came from shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, John Bercow, who claimed to have tabled 11 different questions to the Treasury regarding their involvement in the collapse of Railtrack. He criticised the "spectacularly unilluminating" answer that regular discussions had taken place with a number of organisations, including government departments.

Bercow said: "Is it not the Treasury's refusal to answer these questions an insult to parliament, a breach of code and a justification for a complaint to the parliamentary commissioner for administration?"

After declaring that the issue of written answers was a matter for ministers and not the chair, Martin conceded that he would "reflect on this matter".