By Graham Smith

Parliamentary officials have apologised to St Ives MP Derek Thomas after wrongly including him in the list of those who are supporting another referendum on Brexit.  Officials say it was a case of "human error."

The complex, 16-motion Order Paper for today's business, published this morning, included Mr Thomas among those now calling for a People's Vote.  The Order Paper immediately set alarm bells ringing with many of Cornwall's Conservatives, particularly those in St Ives.

This afternoon clerks wrote to Mr Thomas to set the record straight:

Subject: Error on the Order Paper today

Dear Mr Thomas,

Further to your email to the Principal Clerk to the Table Office, I confirm that your name was erroneously added to the Motion (M) Confirmatory public vote on today’s Order Paper.

This was a result of human error during an exceptionally busy period in the Lower Table Office yesterday evening. Your name has been removed from that Motion on today’s online Order Paper.

I apologise on behalf of the Table Office for this error, and fully recognise the annoyance and confusion that this will have caused, given the political significance of these motions.

James Davies
Deputy Head of the Table Office