File under dereliction of duty

Caroline Flint the Europe Minister, has admitted not having read the Lisbon Treaty. Here and here are the sources of the relevant parts of the exchange (my emphasis):

"Mr. Francois: With respect, the Minister has not answered the question. [Interruption.] Well, I do not think that she has. I shall put it to her again: is it a mutual defence guarantee? A number of EU countries regard it as one. She simply needs to say yes or no. Which is it?

Caroline Flint: What I have said is that, clearly, we have a right to say what missions we take part in. Therefore, we would not automatically be expected to go to the defence of another country in the way that the hon. Gentleman is suggesting. I am happy to come back to that point with details about the article he refers to later in the debate.

Column number: 12

Mr. Francois: Given that the treaty is integral to the documents we are debating this afternoon, I am a little surprised at the continuing vagueness of the Minister’s answer. This is a really simple question: has the Minister read the elements of the Lisbon treaty that relate to defence?

Caroline Flint: I have read some of it but not all of it.

Mr. Francois: What!

Caroline Flint: I have been briefed on some of it.

Mr. Francois: That is an extraordinary answer. The Minister for Europe has not read all of the Lisbon treaty. That is an absolutely extraordinary revelation. It is a bit like the Irish Prime Minister saying that he had not read it before the referendum. That is an incredible answer. If she is Minister for Europe, why has she not read the treaty?

The Chairman: Order. The Lisbon treaty is not entirely relevant to the documents under debate.

Mr. Francois: With respect, it is mentioned a number of times in the documents.
The Chairman: It is related, but it is not the document under debate this afternoon. I ask the hon. Gentleman to bear that in mind.

Caroline Flint: The Lisbon treaty’s mutual assistance clause, article (1)49, is in accordance with article 51 of the UN charter, which states that countries have
“the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs”, and as such—

Mr. Francois: You are supposed to be Minister for Europe; how can you not have read the treaty?"

How can the Europe Minister admit to not having read the Lisbon Treaty and remain in her job? Surely it is her job to understand the Treaty and its implications for the UK or does she see her job as telling the UK public whatever line she has been given to promulgate on any particular day.


Thanks to Iain Dale for the spot.