David Norris (Independent)

I hardly think that, but perhaps if some of the ideas that I clearly, consistently and cogently argued in this House had been listened to by previous Governments - and I would be happy to make whatever little groatsworth of wit I have available to the rest of Europe - we would not be in this mess. The Minister of State may look back and see what I said, and he may check to see whether I was right. I was a lone voice here. The headlines in the newspapers went to the colleagues who were screaming for the heads of named individuals, because that was sexy news, but one cannot afford to have ideas in this country, apparently, because they are trashed. Nobody wants to report them.