The Speaker karu Jayasuriya yesterday told the party leaders it would have been better to take MPs into custody during daytime, following the normal procedures instead of making such arrests at night.

The party leaders met at the Parliament.

All Opposition MPs were of the opinion that parliamentary procedures had been violated when MP Patali Champika Ranawaka was taken into custody.

A decision was taken to summon the IGP and the other high ranking police offiers to the Speaker’s.office.

The speaker said, that though the former Minister had been arrested in the night without informing him, later the Deputy Speaker had been informed.

Jayasuriya pointedout that during the previous government, MPs were arrested after informing the Speaker.

The Speaker told Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena that when the latter was in the Opposition, it was he who had demanded that the S peaker be informed of arrests of MPs.

The party leaders also discussed the Policy Statement to be delivered in Parliament by the President on January 3, The induction of MP Sajith Premadasa as the Opposition leader and swearing in of a new MP.