'The Whip'

Sun – 9 May 2008

First Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander gets Gordon Brown into trouble this week over the Scottish referendum. Then the Commons had to be suspended for five minutes yesterday when her brother, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander, failed to arrive in the Chamber on time to make a statement on Burma. As Business Questions ended, Deputy Speaker Sir Alan Haselhurst – to MPs' astonishment – had to announce the temporary suspension of the sitting as he was unable tomove to the next business. Tory Julian Lewis was quick to seize on the situation to mock:

"Could it be that he has been detained advising his sister on the mess that she's got the Government into?"