Behind the scenes
The government's decision on the sale of BSkyB will be the subject of a Commons statement later today, from Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Unusually, the statement will be made after the DUP's Opposition Day debate on support for the armed forces and veterans, rather than in the usual slot, after question time...so at about 3pm or 3.15pm - more than seven hours after the Stock Exchange was told.
Meanwhile, a behind-the-scenes row is developing over next week's International Women's Day debate - scheduled by the Backbench Business Committee for next Thursday.
After Tuesday's meeting of the committee, the Women's Day debate was scheduled to run after a debate on the future of the coastguard - leading some to suspect that the idea is to spin out the first debate, to minimise the time available for the second.
When the debate was first discussed at the Backbench Business Committee meeting, Conservatives like Phillip Hollobone were distinctly dubious - arguing that it was a ritualistic waste of time (I paraphrase) and it would be better to have more pointed debates.
On Tuesday, when, I understand, the committee's chair Natascha Engel was unavoidably absent, the batting order for Thursday was changed. And there may even have been an attempt in private session to cancel the debate altogether - although that was not put to a vote. Backers of the Women's Day debate now fear a plot to make a mockery of their set-piece occasion. We shall see.
I'm Mark D'Arcy and I'll be writing about what goes on in the chambers and committee rooms at Westminster.
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