Minister apologises for 'inadvertently misleading' MPs

Long lunch: Caerphilly MP Wayne David brandished a photograph of Stephen Crabb's engagement in south London to make a point in the House of Commons.

St David's Day may now be a fading memory but the consequences of Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb's absence from Thursday's House of Commons debate on Welsh affairs linger on.

His deputy, Alun Cairns, returned to the dispatch box on Tuesday to apologise for suggesting Mr Crabb was absent due to "parliamentary business elsewhere". It emerged that the secretary of state was, in fact, speaking to a Conservative Women's lunch in Bexley, south London - which isn't most people's definition of parliamentary business.

The Wales Office insisted it was very common for junior ministers to respond to backbench debates, ignoring the fact that Mr Crabb spoke during the equivalent debate last year and his predecessor David Jones spoke in 2014. (Imagine the fuss if John Redwood as secretary of state had absented himself from an annual Welsh debate for similar reasons).

The Wales Office responded to the obvious question - "a Tory ladies lunch in Bexley isn't parliamentary business, is it?" - by insisting it would refuse to discuss his diary.

'Inadvertently'

That didn't deter Caerphilly Labour MP Wayne David, who raised a point of order with the Speaker on Tuesday: "Last Thursday this house had an excellent debate on Welsh affairs, but unfortunately the secretary of state for Wales was absent. The under-secretary of state for Wales (Alun Cairns), said:

'I can advise the House that the Secretary of State has parliamentary business elsewhere'.

"However, we learned from Twitter that the Secretary of State was at a lunch with Bexley Conservative Ladies, and I have the photograph to prove it. That is not parliamentary business, so I respectfully suggest that the under-secretary comes to the dispatch box to apologise for inadvertently misleading the house."

Up popped Mr Cairns: "Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker, I am happy to clarify the position and, of course, apologise if I have inadvertently misled the house.

"I can confirm that the secretary of state was on a mixture of government and political activity that afternoon. I can also confirm that it was always expected that I, as under-secretary of state, would respond to the backbench business committee debate on St David's Day."

Speaker John Bercow said he was grateful: "I think that is helpful and we will consider that matter closed."