Former Home Office minister Ann Widdecombe has backed Commons speaker Lindsay Hoyle in a row over allowing MPs to vote on a Labour amendment to an SNP motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
She told GB News: “I understand this entirely. This is a major international issue. It's not just a British issue, it is a major international issue.
“The British Parliament is debating it and I think it would be very odd indeed, if the Speaker did not allow both the Government and the official Opposition, I know that the SNP would love to be the official opposition, but why the Speaker should allow the Government and the Official opposition to put down amendments in these circumstances, I do understand it, whatever it might cause.
“I think this is a precedent that is worth having.”
In a discussion with Martin Daubney and GB News’ Political Editor Christopher Hope, she continued: “It's about the General Election. It's about trying to appeal to the voters. It's about saying, ‘look, we're very humane people and we don't agree with what's going on’.
“It will have no impact at all on Israel, no impact at all. It will have no impact on the way that any other international body deals with this. It is posturing with an election coming up this year.”
Asked if Hoyle’s reputation has been damaged, she said: “I don't believe that that is necessarily the case. I mean, whenever something like this happens, conspiracy theories abound and everybody is looking for reasons…
“If I were sitting there in his chair now as Speaker and I had a major international issue about which the British Parliament was debating on, which was going to get a lot of coverage, even if it can't have any actual impact, we'll get a lot of coverage - I think to refuse both the Government and the official Opposition, that would be, I think it would be wrong.
“I would reckon it was a reasonable thing to do and I would then expect, as Lindsay is now facing, the whole world to speculate on my motives.”
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