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By Ned Simons - 19th January 2011
MPs will still be able to use micro-blogging site Twitter while sat in the Commons chamber after an apparent ban was revealed to be a joke.
Web-savvy politicians feared they would have to pocket their Blackberries after deputy Speaker Lindsay Hoyle appeared to ban MPs from tweeting while sat on the green benches.
Hoyle's ruling came after Labour MP Kevin Brennan complained about a tweet posted by Lib Dem Julian Huppert during the heated debate on the Educational Maintenance Allowance (EMA) this afternoon.
Brennan's intervention was triggered after Huppert attacked shadow health secretary Andy Burnham for apparently refusing to work with the government on creating a replacement for the EMA.
Huppert had tweeted: "Ah, Andy Burnham's real agenda leaks out. Simon Hughes, in charge of developing a better replacement, offers to work with him. He refuses."
After hearing of the comment Brennan raised a point of order in the chamber, he asked: "Is it in order during the course of a debate for a member to seek to make points about participants in that debate without doing it here so everybody can hear the points that they are making and have the opportunity to rebut them?"
In response Hoyle ruled: "I am sure no honourable member will be tweeting from the chamber to let the outside world know what is going on".
This created a minor panic among the political twitterati who scrambled to find out whether there was now a ban in place.
Labour MP and prolific tweeter Tom Watson was soon on the case and reassured his followers that MPs would still be able to tweet.
"The Deputy Speaker cracked a gag. Fair play to him for trying, at least. He's told me he didn't ban Twitter," he said.
Brennan was also quick to take to his own Twitter feed to defend his actions.
In a post directed at one user of the site he said: "Tweetd are great - just pointing out that if u r going to criticise someone when u r in the debate - should say it to their face"
It is increasingly common for MPs to use Twitter while sat in Commons debates or select committees, including Brennan himself who tweeted last month that he was "In chamber for debate on time allowed for fees debate tomorrow".
Huppert's initial tweet had drawn a quick response online from Labour MP Stealla Creasy who said Burnham had met Hughes to discuss the issue and accused Huppert of knowingly tweeting inaccurate information.
"You claim Andy has refused to work with Simon Hughes when opposite is true. Using p'mentary privilege to spin perhaps?" she said.
She later added: "I'm a fan of tweeting here but think we all have 2 b able 2 back up claims as if on Hansard!"
Article Comments
It's not technically allowed, if I may be pedantic.
The rule, agreed after a recommendation from the Modernisation Committee was accepted by the Government and the House in 2007 states:
"Use of handheld devices to keep up to date with e-mails should be permitted in Chamber provided that it causes no disturbance"
Interpreting keeping up with e-mails to encompass broadcast communication is arguably quite a stretch.
Iain Corby
19th Jan 2011 at 7:01 pm
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