Category Archives: MPs
Tory MP Resigns Amid Lobbying Allegations
Newark MP Patrick Mercer has said he is quitting Parliament amid allegations that he broke rules on lobbying.
The backbencher said he was resigning the Tory whip immediately “to save my party embarrassment”, and would not stand at the next general election.
The move comes ahead of a BBC Panorama programme due to be broadcast next week.
In a statement, Mr Mercer said: “Panorama are planning to broadcast a programme alleging that I have broken Parliamentary rules.
“I am taking legal advice about these allegations – and I have referred myself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
“In the meantime, to save my party embarrassment, I have resigned the Conservative Whip and have so informed Sir George Young. I have also decided not to stand at the next general election.”
A Conservative Party spokesman said: “The Prime Minister is aware. He thinks Patrick Mercer has done the right thing in referring himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and resigning the whip.
“It’s important that the due processes take their course.”
A BBC spokesman said: “Panorama has been investigating lobbying and the conduct of MPs and members of the House of Lords.
“The programme is still being made and will be broadcast as soon as possible. The investigation has raised a number of issues related to those involved.
“Panorama has sought responses from a number of people including Mr Mercer.”
The Daily Telegraph said it had also been carrying out an investigation into Mr Mercer.
The MP and former army officer served as shadow homeland security minister until 2007, when he resigned after suggesting that racism was “part and parcel” of life in the forces.
Relations with David Cameron have been tense ever since, and in 2011 Mr Mercer was reportedly taped describing the Prime Minister as “despicable”.
Councillors in Mr Mercer’s constituency, where he has a 16,000 majority, said they were shocked at the news of his resignation.
Councillor Peter Duncan said: “I always thought of him as a very solid citizen. If this news is true then I am shocked. I thought he was a very strong individual with a strong point of view. He will be missed.”
Another Tory councillor Derek Evans said: “I’m very surprised at the news. I’ve a lot of trust and faith in Patrick. I have utter faith in him as an MP.”
Huhne & Pryce freed from prison
Former Cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife were both freed from prison today after serving around a quarter of their eight-month sentences for swapping speeding points.
Huhne, a former energy secretary and once-aspiring Liberal Democrat leader, left Leyhill Prison in Gloucestershire by the main entrance in the back seat of a silver Honda, making no attempt to avoid waiting media cameras.
His ex-wife, economist Vicky Pryce, earlier emerged from East Sutton Park Prison near Maidstone, Kent, via a back exit and left with her solicitor Robert Brown, pursued by press photographers who been camped outside the Category D open jail for women and young offenders.
Huhne will return to the London home he shares with PR adviser Carina Trimingham.
The former Eastleigh MP left Pryce in 2010 as his affair with Ms Trimingham was about to be exposed, ending his 26-year marriage to Pryce and leading her to reveal the speeding points swap to newspapers in a bid to “nail” him.
Pryce is expected to return to her home in Clapham, south London.
The former couple were each handed eight-month prison sentences on March 11 for perverting the course of justice a decade ago when Pryce took speeding points for her then husband.
Huhne finally pleaded guilty to the offence on the first day of their trial in February after months of staunch denials and several attempts to get the case thrown out, while Pryce was later convicted by a jury after a retrial at Southwark Crown Court when her defence of marital coercion failed.
Both will now have to wear electronic tags, used to enforce either a timed curfew or a place of residence, as a condition of their early release.
For sentences of less than a year, an offender is automatically released after serving half of their sentence.
In addition, offenders serving sentences of between three months and four years, with certain exceptions for violent and sexual offenders, may also be eligible for release on a home detention curfew (HDC).
This allows an offender to be released up to 135 days before their automatic release date.
MPs have repaid £390,000 – but one MP refuses to cough up
MPs have repaid nearly £390,000 in profits judged to have been made on taxpayer-funded homes, says Ipsa, Parliament’s expenses watchdog.
The highest amount paid was £81,446 by Conservative David Jones, one of 71 MPs who continued to claim towards mortgage interest payments from 2010 until 2012.
They had to repay a share of any capital gain and most have now done so.
But Tory Stewart Jackson(above) says Ipsa is bullying him by taking legal action to get him to pay £54,000 it says he owes.
All MPs used to be able to claim expenses towards the cost of mortgage interest payments on their “second homes”.
But changes introduced in 2010, following the expenses scandal, stopped the practice for all new MPs. Most now rent properties or stay in temporary accommodation like hotels if they need a base in London.
MPs who had already bought properties under the old system were allowed to continue to claim mortgage interest payments until August 2012 – as long as they agreed to repay a share of any profit made over that period, even if they chose not to sell.
Properties were valued by a surveyor in 2010 and again in 2012 – and the amount MPs had to repay depended on how much they had claimed, and how much the property’s value had risen by.
Mr Jackson, who claimed £32,494 over the two years, has been told to repay £54,000 based on valuations of his home in Peterborough.
Ipsa says it has filed a claim at the High Court to recoup the money.
But Mr Jackson says the watchdog’s actions are “heavy handed and disproportionate and are clearly intended to bully me into submission”.
He disputes valuations of his property done in 2010 and 2012 and says they assume his property rose by almost 20% in value, while others in his constituency fell by 3% over the same period. He still lives in the house and points out that he is being asked to repay more than he claimed.
“IPSA have negotiated with 70 other MPs in a secretive and arbitrary manner but in respect of my case, regrettably, they have refused to negotiate. I am merely seeking fair play and consistency and will pursue legal action to receive it.”
In total, the 71 MPs claimed £926,159 of public money to cover mortgage interest over the 15-month period. Twenty nine of them were told to repay a total of £484,828 – of which nearly £390,000 has been repaid so far.
The largest claims were made by Labour’s Michael Connarty – who received £34,168 and has repaid £6,833 – and Mr Jackson.
But 42 of the 71 MPs have not had to repay anything, as their properties fell in value over the period.
Among those repaying the most are Mr Jones, Conservative MP for Clwyd West, who claimed £18,060 in expenses but due to rising value of his London property has had to repay £81,446.
The DUP’s Gregory Campbell, who claimed £16,755 towards a London property he still owns, has repaid £61,403. Conservative Philip Hammond repaid £34,610 – more than the £20,967 he claimed and DUP MP David Simpson paid back £30, 308 having claimed £11,208.
Some are still repaying money, such as Conservative David Willetts and Labour’s John Denham, who have not sold their properties, and Lib Dem Andrew George.
An Ipsa spokesman said: “One of the most damaging aspects of the expenses scandal was the practice where MPs got taxpayer support to own a second home. That is why we said we would stop this, and we have now done so.
“The final stage in bringing this to an end was our allowing a short transition period for MPs who were already committed to second mortgages.
“But in doing this we set the condition that the taxpayer would want its share of any increase in the value of the property. Today we are publishing that these capital gains are worth almost £500,000 to the taxpayer.
“MPs knew this was the deal and agreed to the conditions at the start.
“In valuing the property, it was important that we didn’t rely on amateur valuations or guesses from the web.
“Instead, we demanded formal valuations at the start and end, from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors – the most authoritative voice in this field.
“We would only accept valuations from RICS members or fellows – providing proper assurance on the value of the properties.
“We required all MPs to provide these independent valuations at the start and end of the claim period. And we published the way in which the capital gain would be calculated. The same method of calculation has been applied to all 71 cases.
“Stewart Jackson provided us with two RICS valuations. As he has been unwilling to pay the £54,000 due we have issued proceedings to recover the sum through the High Court.”
Huhne & Pryce could pay £100,000
A court hearing will be held today to decide how much former Cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife Vicky Pryce should pay for their points-swapping prosecution.
The disgraced MP and his former wife are each serving eight months in prison for perverting the course of justice when she took three speeding points for him a decade ago.
More than £100,000 was spent by prosecutors pursuing the former couple, Attorney General Dominic Grieve has said.
Huhne faces a hefty legal bill from the case – the CPS is pursuing him for the cost of his prosecution as well as for his efforts to get the case thrown out.
The 58-year-old, who denied his guilt for two years, failed in attempts to get his case dismissed, only pleading guilty on the first day of trial, while economist Pryce, 60, was convicted after a retrial.
A costs hearing for both will take place at Southwark Crown Court at 10am.
Cop Resigns Over Thatcher “Painful and Degrading” Twitter Comments
A police officer who posted offensive messages online following Baroness Thatcher’s death has resigned.
• Sergeant Jeremy Scott resigns after posting offensive comments about Baroness Thatcher on Twitter account
• Sergeant Scott wrote he hoped Lady Thatcher’s death was “painful and degrading”
Sergeant Jeremy Scott, who worked in a back-office role for the Metropolitan Police, is understood to have written on social networking website Twitter that he hoped Lady Thatcher’s death was “painful and degrading”.
Scotland Yard confirmed Sgt Scott had submitted his resignation and it was accepted with immediate effect.
Commander Allan Gibson added: “This officer’s behaviour was completely unacceptable and it is right that he has resigned.”
Under the Twitter handle @thinbluespeck, which has since been taken down, Sgt Scott said Lady Thatcher’s death was “87 years too late” and added that the world was a “better place”.
Before resigning today, Sgt Scott reported the matter himself to the Directorate of Professional Standards, which is responsible for investigating complaints against officers’ professional conduct.
His resignation comes after figures from Scotland Yard revealed that three police officers have been sacked for misusing social media over the past five years.
Allegations linked to the use of sites including Facebook and Twitter have been recorded against 75 Metropolitan Police officers since 2009, with 38 of the claims substantiated.
Prime Minister David Cameron yesterday branded some reaction to the death of Baroness Thatcher as “pretty distasteful”.
Several “death parties” were held on the day she died, while an online campaign has driven sales of the song Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead to number four in the official chart.
Commenting on the so-called death parties, Sgt Scott reportedly tweeted: “Marvellous stuff! Margaret Thatcher’s death greeted with street parties in Brixton and Glasgow.”
Directing his anger at other politicians, he also wrote: “Goodnight Twitter. The world is a better place today now that c*** is dead. Now for Cameron, May and Osborne.”
Over 2,000 invited to funeral
Lady Thatcher will be officially mourned by more than 2,000 invited guests including Hillary Clinton, the former American secretary of state, FW de Klerk, the last president of apartheid South Africa, and Jeremy Clarkson, the current television presenter of Top Gear.
Downing Street yesterday released details about next Wednesday’s ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral.
Among those unable to attend are the former prime minister’s old political adversary Lord Kinnock, who is attending another funeral. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Nancy Reagan will also be absent, with both saying health problems will prevent them attending.
However, Lord Heseltine, who plotted her political downfall, said he will take his place among the pews.
Number 10 said the guest list had been drawn up by Lady Thatcher’s family and representatives with the assistance of the UK government and the Conservative Party. More than 2,000 invitations are expected to be printed and sent out today, with around 2,300 people expected to pack St Paul’s.
According to Downing Street, confirmed guests so far include Tony Blair and wife, Cherie and Lord Jeffrey Archer with wife, Mary.
Singer Dame Shirley Bassey and composer Lord Lloyd-Webber are also due to attend the service, which will begin at 11am after Lady Thatcher’s body has travelled from Parliament with full military honours.
Broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan has confirmed he too will be attending with his wife.
A representative of former South African president Nelson Mandela – whose ANC Lady Thatcher once described as a terrorist group – has been invited.
A spokeswoman for Number 10 said: “Those invited include family and friends of Lady Thatcher, those who worked with her over the years, including all surviving members of her Cabinets, former chiefs of staff, Conservative associates, peers and MPs, members of the Cabinet, members of the Order of the Garter, members of the Order of Merit, foreign associates and dignitaries, and representatives from the wide range of groups she was associated with.
“In agreement with Lady Thatcher’s representatives, around 200 states, territories and international organisations are being invited to send an official representative to the service.”
Argentina’s president Cristina Kirchner has not been invited. However, the country’s ambassador to the UK has been asked to attend. In addition, there are invitations being made in a personal capacity to some current and former world leaders as well as others from overseas who had a close connection to Baroness Thatcher.
The dress code gives guests the option of “Full Day Ceremonial without swords”, “Morning Dress (Black Waistcoat and Black Tie)/dark suit”, or “Day dress with Hat”. It also specifies that “medals and decorations” may be worn. The invitations will be colour-coded depending on the importance of the guest.
VIP versions are white with red or green stripes and recipients will sit under the dome of the cathedral. Other colours designate different areas of seating.
Among those unable to attend are the former leader of the Labour Party, Lord Kinnock, whose office said he had already accepted an invitation to a service on Wednesday for a friend who died shortly before Lady Thatcher.
A spokeswoman said: “He will not be attending because a councillor in his old constituency died a few days before Lady Thatcher. He promised he would got to the funeral. He will be in Wales.”
Meanwhile, Mr Cameron defended the decision to recall Parliament on Wednesday, even though MPs were due to return to Westminster on Monday.
“I thought it brought the Parliament together, it brought out the best in Parliament and it was part of a fitting send-off to our first ever woman prime minister,” he said.
Asked about reports that Speaker John Bercow had been taken aback by the request to bring back MPs, he said: “The request was made and the Speaker granted it.”
Mr Cameron also said he believed it was right that Lady Thatcher was being given a funeral with full military honours. “I think it is right to have a ceremonial funeral, with key elements of a state funeral, with the troops lining the route.
“I think people would find us a pretty extraordinary country if we didn’t properly commemorate with dignity, with seriousness, but with also some fanfare … the passing of this extraordinary woman.
“I think not only in Britain would people say, ‘You are not doing this properly’, but the rest of the world would think we were completely wrong.”
Chris Huhne pictured in HMP Leyhill
Chris Huhne: now a prisoner in HMP Leyhill
Read Converse, the national newspaper for prisoners in England and Wales
Huhne moved to Leyhill – “in some ways a harder prison than Wandsworth”
Chris Huhne: moved to HMP leyhill
Disgraced former MP Chris Huhne has been moved to a comfortable open prison after spending seven days in a tough London jail, it has been reported.
The ex-Liberal Democrat Cabinet minister was jailed earlier this month after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice for asking his wife to take speeding points for him in 2003.
The 58-year-old served his first week at HMP Wandsworth, in south London, but has now been moved to HMP Leyhill in Gloucestershire for the remainder of his eight month term, The Sun has reported.
Mark Leech, editor of Converse the national newspaper for prisoners in England and Wales who has served time at Leyhill said in some ways it is harder at an open prison than a closed one.
“In an open prison you have to be your own jailer, and often that can be difficult because there is always a temptation to abscond.
“Huhne was always going to an open prison, it was just a matter of time and he will find Leyhill a lot more pleasant than Wandsworth – he is now eligible for outside work, town visits and even home leave – he will be out in about six weeks anyway.”
HMP Leyhill, which has farms and gardens in its grounds, offers a number of courses and employment opportunities for prisoners, such as making door and window frames and prison furniture.
On March 15 Huhne’s ex-wife was moved to a “pleasant” open jail after spending only four nights in Holloway prison, according to reports.
Vicky Pryce, 60, was jailed for eight months after a jury found her guilty of perverting the course of justice.
Economist Pryce was convicted following a retrial at Southwark Crown Court after a jury disagreed with her defence of marital coercion.
The mother-of-five was transferred from notorious Holloway prison in north London to East Sutton Park prison in Maidstone, Kent, it was reported.
The category D jail is described on the MoJ website as “a pleasant mansion house overlooking the Weald of Kent”.
An MoJ spokesman has previously said it will not comment on individual prisoners or where they are held.
Jailing the pair, Mr Justice Sweeney said Huhne had fallen from a “great height” and Pryce from a “considerable height”.
Pryce Moved To Open Prison
Former Cabinet minister Chris Huhne’s ex-wife has been moved to a “pleasant” open jail after spending only four nights in Holloway prison, according to reports.
Vicky Pryce, 60, was jailed for eight months last Monday after a jury found her guilty of perverting the course of justice for taking speeding points for Huhne in 2003.
On Friday, the mother-of-five was transferred from notorious Holloway prison in north London to East Sutton Park prison in Maidstone, Kent, it was reported.
The category D jail is described on the Ministry of Justice’s website as “a pleasant mansion house overlooking the Weald of Kent”.
“It holds both adult and young offender women in open conditions preparing them for resettlement in the community,” the website adds.
Mark Leech, editor of Converse the national newspaper for prisoners said it was only to be expected.
“She ticks all the boxes for Category D conditions, so its to be expected, she’ll now be eligible for day release, home leaves and I expect her to be released on Home Detention Curfew in seven weeks.”
East Sutton Park’s regime includes “provision of farms, gardens, catering and training courses, physical education”.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “We do not comment on individual prisoners or where they are held.”
Economist Pryce was convicted following a retrial at Southwark Crown Court after a jury disagreed with her defence of marital coercion.
Huhne, 58, pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial last month after denying perverting the course of justice for nearly two years.
Jailing the pair, Mr Justice Sweeney said Huhne had fallen from a “great height” and Pryce from a “considerable height”.
Ar yes, now who was it that voted against prisoners having the vote?
Chris Huhne: now a prisoner but who as a policitian voted against prisoners having the vote.
Disgraced MP Chris Huhne may find it difficult to explain his voting record in the Commons to prisoners says Mark Leech, editor of Converse the national newspaper for prisoners in England and Wales.
Mr Leech said: “Hansard shows that every time the issue of votes for prisoners came up in the House of Commons Chris Huhne, currently the Dishonourable Member for Wandsworth North, voted against it – let’s see him try and explain that in the showers.
“He also voted against prison officers pay being linked to inflation, and also that of the police, and we should not forget his little forays into the wierd world of Parliamentary expenses.
“Huhne claimed for groceries, fluffy dusters and a trouser press.
“In 2006, he claimed £5,066 for painting work on his garden fences and chairs.
“He collected £119 for a mahogany Corby trouser press from John Lewis but later said he would repay the cost in order “to avoid controversy” – later claiming on a live Channel 4 news programme that he needed the trouser press to “look smart” for work.
“In June 2010, it was revealed that in the second half of 2009, after the expenses scandal news story became known, Huhne claimed £14,948 in expenses, including some minor amounts such as a bill of 14p for stationery – a claim that also included costs incurred in servicing an old boiler at his constituency home.”
‘Pryce is a Victim Not a Cultprit’ Insists Her Lawyer
“..if ever there was an example of a Pyrrhic victory this is it – with bells on.” Mark Leech
Vicky Pryce’s solicitor questioned whether she should have been treated as a victim rather than a defendant as he indicated an appeal was still being considered.
Robert Brown also cautioned critics of the “marital coercion” defence unsuccessfully used by Pryce that they could leave victims of domestic abuse defenceless if it was removed.
Economist Pryce was convicted last week of perverting the course of justice by taking speeding points for then husband Chris Huhne, the former cabinet minister.
Both began eight-month jail sentences on Monday.
The case has led to widespread demands for the “arcane” coercion defence – which applies only to wives – to be scrapped.
Mr Brown said the law needs updating, but he told BBC Radio 4′s Today: “Those responsible for that should be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. There are still cases where there are women in relationships where they are vulnerable and they may be put under pressure to commit crimes and they need the state to be able to defend them rather than just prosecute them.”
He went on: “We shouldn’t forget … that it is Government policy and it is part of the CPS policy, that domestic violence is not confined to physical violence; it includes the application of pressure, specifically, and coercion, specifically.
“When you have someone in the sort of position Vicky Pryce was in in this trial, what’s the state to do about it?
“Is it to regard her as a victim of violence … or should she be seen as a defendant? That’s a conundrum for public policy which needs to be sorted out.”
Mr Brown said a decision on whether to appeal against the conviction would await examination of the full transcripts of the retrial which were not yet available.
“That’s something which we will actively consider,” he said.
Her sentence was “in keeping with the best guess one might have” based on the very few guidelines available, he said.
“Whether or not it’s a humane sentence is a much wider question.”
He had not seen his client in Holloway Prison so was unable to say how she was coping with life behind bars, he told the programme.
But Mark Leech, editor of Converse the national newspaper for prisoners in England and Wales said he thought she was the author of her own misfortune:
“I’m sorry but I do find it hard to be too sympathetic with Vicky Pryce – of course there are vulnerable women locked in abusive relationships, and they rightly need protection, but I don’t believe for a single second that Vicky Pryce was one of them; and neither come to that did the jury.
“She brought all of this on herself, if ever there was an example of a Pyrrhic victory this is it with bells on.”
