One of the recommendations of the Modernisation Committee which has caught the imagination of the journalists is the proposal that "the use of handheld devices to keep up to date with e-mails should be permitted in the Chamber provided that it causes no disturbance." Inevitably the comments include "On-message MPs can take BlackBerrys into Chamber" (headline, The Times) and "The Blackberry will notch up another victory in its campaign for world domination ...as Jack Straw and other MPs call for the right to use handheld devices during parliamentary debates." (Guardian).Westminster is built upon an ancient island created by branches of the River Tyburn and the Thames - known as Thorney Island. The meaning of the name is - "the island of blackberries"!
