Newsday newspaper has been referred to Parliament's Privileges Committee regarding alleged unauthorised disclosure of committee proceedings. House Speaker Barendra Sinanan yesterday ruled that a prima facie case had been made out against the newspaper by Information Minister Neil Parsanlal on the issue. Sinanan referred the newspaper to the Privileges team.
Parsanlal, addressing the House, noted a recent Newsday article headlined Udecott Apologises to House Speaker. He submitted that the action by the writer of the article and the publisher of Newsday was in high contempt of the House of Representatives. Parsanlal said the article reported matters which appear to touch on the proceedings of the Privileges Committee, including interactions which may have taken place between the committee and Udecott.
Citing Standing Order 81, Parsanlal said this order states that the "proceedings of and the evidence taken before any Select Committee and any document presented to and decisions of such a committee shall not be published by any member thereof or by any person before the committee had presented its report to the House." Parsanlal added, "Erskine May instructs and it is held in virtually every legislature that premature disclosure of the content of a report which a committee has under consideration or which has been agreed but not yet published, may be treated as a contempt."
