Again, I said I would check with the relevant Ministers about where the investigation is. However, very often, the opposite of that story can also happen.

The Deputy would be the very first to stand up here if the Government had got involved in the investigation, and the Government of the day would then be accused of cover-up and of influencing the investigation to get the right result that has now facilitated further planning permissions. That is exactly what would happen. If the Government started speaking to the various independent investigators to tell them to hurry up and sort it out quickly because we needed to get a clear landscape in terms of what was to happen, people would start accusing the Government of interfering in an impartial investigation that should be without fear or favour. It should just find out what happened here.

I take the Deputy's point. He made a fair point about the timeliness of the investigation. I accept that point but we are at the mercy - the entire House always is - of any kind of investigation that is external and conducted by an agency or a group of agencies into matters such as this. Once the investigation starts, I do not believe the Government can get involved or interfere in it, but I will come back to the Deputy on the timelines in respect of it.

See this speech in context