TNAG-0525-FCO40-620-Visit-of-UK-Members-of-Parliament-(Defence-and-External-Affa-1975 — Page 213

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to the press on matters raised in their evidence. If a Select

Committee takes evidence in public from a Minister or senior official,

therefore, it may be considered desirable for a Press Officer also to

attend, so as to be able to answer press queries. Such press briefing

should not, however, extend to comment on matters of policy since

such comment might be regarded as impeding the Committee in its task

and hence as contempt. Care should be taken not to go beyond the

evidence given by the Minister or official in commenting on any

suggestion made by another witness, eg the Chairman of a Nationalised

Industry, at the same hearing, or to disclose information not yet

given publicly. Written memoranda of evidence on which departmental

witnesses are examined in public and which are included in the

printed copy of the proceedings reported that day to the House, in

as much as they may have been available to the public attending the

session, may at the department's discretion be issued to other

interested parties thereafter. Copies of oral evidence given in

public should not, however, be disclosed by departments until the

final published version is available, as the first copies are

confidential proofs subject both to correction and to explanation

by footnotes. Amendments to the proofs of evidence sent to witnesses

by the Clerk cannot normally go beyond minor corrections of grammar

and transcription, although the chairman may be willing to consider

suggestions about "sidelining" (see para 25).

23. Evidence critical of a department may be given in open session

by persons outside the department on occasions when departmental

witnesses are not also present. In these circumstances departments

should not seek publicly to respond to such criticisms outside the

ambit of the Committee. Instead, the Chairman of the Committee

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