It is proposed to take Questions Nos. 200, 201, 213, 214, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221 and 222 together.
I draw the Deputies' attention to the replies provided to similar questions on 23 January 1996. I reject any suggestion that I misled the House in regard to this matter. The procedures followed by me in making these appointments were strictly in accordance with the standard practice to date, by current and previous office holders going back to 1973. Accordingly, announcement of these posts within the Department, or to staff unions, or by public advertisement, did not arise.
The Forum document referred to is not a magazine. It is an internal Democratic Left newsletter circulated privately and free of charge. The notice in Forum relating to my staff appointments could not be regarded as an advertisement in the commonly accepted sense of that term.