Hume (PSE). – Mr President, at the part-session here last month I raised this very question of the problems of flying to Strasbourg. Yesterday I left home at 7 o'clock in the morning and, because of the behaviour of Air France at Charles de Gaulle, I arrived here at 9 o'clock yesterday evening. I could have flown to America and back in the same time! Here is my boarding pass – but Air France would not let me on the aeroplane. Nor would they allow nine colleagues on board and, as a result, we had to wait several more hours to get on the next plane.

Given that this is the European headquarters of the European Parliament one would have thought that every mechanism would be in place to ensure that Members get here. That is a primary factor: that Members attend Parliament. If the current arrangements prevent us from doing so then they should be investigated.

(Applause)