CONDUCT OF THE HON. MEMBER FOR HENLEY AND THE RIGHT HON. MEMBER FOR RICHMOND (YORKS)

That this House notes with concern the conduct of the hon. Member for Henley and the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) in supplying character references for the businessman Lord Black of Crossharbour following his conviction in a US court of obstruction of justice and three counts of mail fraud; and believes it is inconsistent for those hon. Members to present themselves as exponents of law and order in light of the fact that they have provided a character reference for a man who, in the words of the Financial Times `stole nearly $7 million from Hollinger through a complex scheme in which he paid himself non-competition fees following a sale of some of the company's newspapers' properties to another company he controlled'.