Defra minister Margaret Beckett is coming under fire with opposition counterparts branding her the ‘invisible minister’.
Norman Baker, the Lib Dem shadow minister, has lodged a formal complaint to Beckett’s Permanent Secretary Brian Bender.
The argument stems from the time Beckett hit the headlines by telling staff she couldn’t deal with her in-tray for 61 days during March, April and May due to commitments abroad.
Baker said he had spent six months trying to get a list of the Defra ministers engagements during the period and tabled a number of questions on the matter, with no response.
He said: “If the information I am now requesting is not forthcoming, I shall proceed to raise the matter with the Parliamentary Ombudsman.” He added he was giving Bender another week to reply to his letter.
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