Should ministers be disciplined if they announce major decisions to the media before telling Parliament?
The Ministerial Code says that, when Parliament is sitting, the most important policy announcements should be made first in Parliament. The Speaker can only rebuke ministers who break this, and enforcement otherwise rests with the Prime Minister. On 21 October 2026 Speaker Lindsay Hoyle called it "shameful" that approval of the Jackdaw gas field was trailed overnight and announced in media interviews before MPs were told. He noted that the same had happened before, including over the 2025 strategic defence review.
1 Opinion
It’s simply an old approach incompatible with the modern world. Timing matters for market sensitivity which doesn’t work for parliamentary timings. Dual announcement or statements can work and verbal statements as soon as after but it’s just outdated in the current form