8:29am Monday 8th February 2010
HOME Secretary Alan Johnson yesterday rejected the idea that MPs accused of fiddling their expenses should be able to use parliamentary privilege as a “get out of jail card”.
Mr Johnson said it was vital that the three Labour MPs and one Tory peer charged with false accounting should be treated exactly the same as any other members of the public.
The intervention came amid speculation that Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine will argue that the principle of parliamentary privilege exempts them from prosecution.
It has also emerged that the trio are likely to receive tens of thousands of pounds in “golden goodbyes” when they stand down from the Commons.
Legal advisors to Speaker John Bercow are understood to be examining whether the resettlement grants can be withheld or delayed while the court process is completed.
But they have yet to find a way that satisfies “natural justice” because the men have not been convicted of any crime.
The MPs and Lord Hanningfield deny the charges, and have pledged to defend themselves robustly.
Members who leave Parliament at a General Election are entitled to pay-offs of up to £65,000, depending on their age and service.
Interviewed on BBC1’s Andrew Marr show, Mr Johnson said the 1689 Bill of Rights – which enshrined the principle of parliamentary privilege – was not meant to deal with “this kind of issue”.
“My colleagues in Parliament should get a fair trial,”
he said. “That fair trial should be on the same basis as any member of the public who goes through the court system.
“The whole point about this, this dreadful, dreadful, damaging year that we have had here, is that people want to see MPs treated in the same way as they would be treated had they broken the law.”
He went on: “I think the public would be aghast if they thought there was some special get-out-of-jail card for parliamentarians.”
Aides to David Cameron said he was disgusted by the prospect of privilege being invoked.
And the Tory leader’s effective deputy, Richmond MP and Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague, said: “MPs did not have expenses at the time the Bill of Rights was assembled. It was never intended to protect the abuse of taxpayers’ money.”
■ David Cameron will today pledge to change the law to prevent the “disgusting sight” of MPs using parliamentary privilege in a bid to avoid prosecution for expenses abuses.
The Tory leader will also challenge Gordon Brown to withdraw the Labour whip from three MPs who have been charged with false accounting over their claims.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/trade_directory/