Member

When I tabled that amendment, I had been working on the assumption that the Williams report, having been the product of an independent review—the conclusions of which had largely gathered support from all parties—was one that the Government saw as a basis for their plan for the future of the railways. However, in the course of Committee on Monday afternoon, I learned that the text of the Williams review could be altered by a phone call between the Minister and the author of the review, and that the results of such discussion could be delivered to the House without any preparation and would be binding on how we are to interpret the text.