while the whipping system is long established, it is, of course, a contempt to obstruct members in the discharge of their duty or to attempt to intimidate a member in their parliamentary conduct by threats. there is a clear process for raising such matters and referring them for investigation to determine whether the conduct in question is a contempt. in the first instance, members raising such concerns should write to me, and i hope these general observations will assist the house in going forward. the speaker of the house of commons, sir lindsay hoyle. south africa found itself at the epicentre of the omicron variant last year, but now scientists in the country are confident it s on the way out. they accuse the developed world of ignoring their advice that the variant was less harmful than feared.