21.— (1) A member of the House shall not be, or continue to be, a committee member if by reason of—

(a) subject to subsection (8), his or her connection or dealings with any matter the subject of the Part 2 inquiry,

(b) his or her utterances on the matter the subject of the inquiry, or

(c) any other circumstances that the House considers relevant,

a perception of bias might arise in a reasonable person aware of that connection, or those dealings, utterances or other relevant circumstances, as the case may be.

(2) Where there is a doubt as to whether subsection (1) applies in the case of a member of the House, the House shall decide the matter as soon as is practicable.

(3) A committee member shall recuse himself or herself from the Part 2 inquiry if, during the course of the conduct of the inquiry, by reason of—

(a) his or her connection or dealings with any matter the subject of the inquiry,

(b) his or her utterances on the matter the subject of the inquiry, or

(c) any other circumstances that the House considers relevant,

a perception of bias might arise in a reasonable person aware of that connection, or those dealings, utterances or other relevant circumstances, as the case may be.

(4) Where a committee member fails to recuse himself or herself from the Part 2 inquiry pursuant to subsection (3), the member may be removed from the committee in accordance with the rules and standing orders of the House.

(5) Where a committee member ceases to be a committee member by virtue of the operation of this section, the cesser shall not for that reason alone invalidate the proceedings of the Part 2 inquiry up to the point of such cesser and the inquiry may continue to be conducted without the former committee member.

(6) Where a committee member who is the chairman of the committee is, for whatever reason, temporarily unable to perform the functions of the chairman, the other committee members shall select, from amongst their number, in such manner as they consider appropriate, a committee member to act as the chairman of the committee for the time being.

(7) Where a committee member who is the chairman of the committee ceases to be a committee member by virtue of the operation of this section, or for any other reason, the House shall, by resolution, appoint a chairman from amongst the remaining committee members.

(8) The fact that a member of the House has any connection or dealings with any matter that is the subject of the Part 2 inquiry shall not of itself mean that a perception of bias might arise in a reasonable person aware of that connection, or those dealings, as the case may be.