Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead) (Con): I should like to add a final footnote to the debate, I hope on behalf of all those other hon. Members of all parties who entered the House as part of the 2005 intake. I am sure that the Serjeant at Arms saw us all as upstarts when we first arrived, but I should like to thank him for his generosity in spending time with us as we learned the processes of this wonderful establishment.
Sir Robert Smith (West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine) (LD): Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Mike Penning: I do not think I can give way, but if the hon. Gentleman is patient he can jump up in a minute—although that will mean that my contribution is no longer the final final footnote.
Whether they have worked here before or not, new Members think that they are the most important people in the world. The Serjeant at Arms was a major-general in the Army, whereas I was a lowly guardsman, but one of his great attributes was that he treated everyone with great respect and understanding. That is why this place has worked so brilliantly well.
Sometimes things still happen here for the first time. I am sure that the Serjeant was as proud as I was when, last Thursday, his team and staff from the Speaker’s Office helped to organise a visit here by nearly 100 British soldiers who had just arrived back from Afghanistan. They marched through the Central Lobby in uniform, and then had a good drink and an enjoyable time. That is the sort of thing that this House should be doing, and it would not have happened without the help of the Serjeant at Arms. Therefore, on behalf of the 2005 intake, I thank him for all his work.
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