Point of Order

In the House of Commons, Mr. James Cleverly, a Conservative Member, raised a point of order regarding an inaccuracy made by the newly elected Member for Chipping Barnet, Mr. Dan Tomlinson, during his question to the Prime Minister. Mr. Cleverly stated that the Metropolitan Police is the best-funded force, both in absolute terms and per capita, and that the Mayor of London was offered £62 million to fund the force, which he failed to use due to a lack of recruitment. Mr. Cleverly's main concern was whether advice could be provided to new and returning Members on how to correct the record when they make erroneous claims on the floor of the House. The Speaker responded that Mr. Cleverly had put his views on the record, but that the debate would not continue, and it was up to individual Members to correct the record if there had been an error in what was said. The debate did not delve further into the specific claims made by Mr. Tomlinson or the funding of the Metropolitan Police. The Speaker's response focused on the procedural aspect of correcting the record, rather than engaging in a substantive discussion of the issues raised by Mr. Cleverly. The overall tone of the exchange was one of clarifying the appropriate parliamentary process for addressing potential inaccuracies, rather than a broader debate on the merits of the claims made.