On a point of order, Mr. Chair, there is nothing in the Standing Orders that would forbid a witness from answering a question that might also have been asked in a court. In fact, quite to the contrary, nothing the witness says here can be used in a court proceeding and in no way, then, could be used to interfere with that proceeding.
Finally, it was the decision of this committee, and ruled upon by you, that these hearings could go ahead in spite of the fact that civil proceedings are under way. That decision was made by this committee, despite cautions from Conservative members. Now that the committee has made that decision, we insist, as members of Parliament with privileges that come along with that, that the witness answer our questions and not use the cover of a court proceeding to avoid answering the questions that are posed to him.