Volunteering bill talked out by record speech

A controversial bill ran out of parliamentary time before a vote could be taken, after a Labour MP spoke for more than three hours in the Commons today.

In the longest parliamentary speech of recent times, Hendon MP Andrew Dismore raised a plethora of objections to the private member's bill originally proposed by the shadow international development secretary, Julian Brazier, in a bid to protect volunteers from unnecessary litigation and red tape.

Prospects for the Conservative MP's promotion of volunteering bill were already looking bleak on Wednesday, when Home Office officials signalled that the government was likely to withdraw the support that had helped steer it through earlier stages. A spokesman said legal advice had indicated that the bill would raise "very significant difficulties around negligence law".

The bill originally aimed to introduce a "statement of inherent risk", which volunteers or voluntary organisations could ask the users of their services or activities to sign, to ensure that they "share responsibility for the safe conduct of the activity". The courts would have to take account of the agreement in any legal proceedings for negligence or breach of statutory duty.

But in his marathon speech, Mr Dismore said the bill failed to address the real reasons for the lack of volunteers, like paid time off work. "This bill is a lawyers' charter. I'm a lawyer and I know a charter when I see one. It is vague and badly worded," he said.

It would take away people's rights and be "an unlimited charter to injure, kill and maim" young people, he concluded.

Faced with a number of amendments tabled by the bill's opponents, Mr Brazier had offered to "water-down" some of its more controversial aspects.

He warned of a rising "blame culture" and the effect this was having on sports bodies and other recreational groups. "Too many adults are deterred from volunteering by the threat of litigation," he said.

Mr Brazier accused his opponents of trying to kill off the bill with dozens of amendments, but warned the campaign for a change in the law on negligence would go on.

Mr Dismore denied he had tabled the amendments for "fun," insisting they were substantive changes. "They are matters of principle, not pedantry," he said.

Former health secretary Frank Dobson, backing the bill, said volunteers did face problems. "If you are one of those people and something goes wrong, you aren't going to face a kindly Robin Butler-style inquiry where they may conclude that things went wrong but nobody is to blame. What you get... is a court action against you personally or the organisation to which you belong."

Former Labour minister Kate Hoey said that "the reality is that there's not always someone to blame". Sometimes it was simple "misfortune" when something goes wrong and "that should be the end of it". She said the bill had the support of a number of government ministers, particularly some in the Department for Education and Skills.

Mr Dismore sat down at 2.07pm, three hours and one minute after he started, saying: "I realise I have been going on for some time." He said he would need to speak for another hour to cover the bill fully but stopped to allow other MPs to speak.

The bill was still being debated when time ran out and now goes back down the list of backbench measures, making it extremely unlikely to become law due to a lack of parliamentary time.