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Brown washes his hands of Gorbals: It's up to MPs to decide Speaker's
fate, says PM

By Michael Lea, Kirsty Walker and Nicola Boden
Last updated at 1:29 PM on 18th May 2009

* Speaker to make statement on future this afternoon
* At least 15 MPs back motion of no confidence
* MPs 'given nod to make inflated claims on mortgages'
* Met chief vows not to back down on expenses inquiry

Gordon Brown today appeared to wash his hands of the Speaker hours
before he launches a desperate attempt to save his job.

The Prime Minister pointedly refused to give Mr Martin his support as he
was preparing to make an emergency statement to the Commons.

Asked to back Mr Martin, he replied: 'The decision on who is Speaker is
a matter for the House of Commons.'

He has previously praised Mr Martin for doing a good job but this
assessment has been dropped amid fury over his handling of the MPs'
expenses scandal.

The Speaker will set out 'where his future lies' later and hopes a
pledge to carry through reform of the expenses system will buy him time
until the next election.

But at least 15 MPs have now signed a motion of no confidence, meaning
he could be forced to go immediately.

This would make him the first Speaker ousted from the post in more than
300 years.

Scroll down for the full list of MPs to back the motion
Commons speaker Michael Martin is fighting for his political life

Three Labour MPs, six Conservatives and six Liberal Democrats have
backed the move tabled by Tory Douglas Carswell.

They include former shadow home secretary David Davis, Labour's Kate
Hoey and the Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb.

Once the motion is tabled, the Speaker has the choice of dismissing it -
which would provoke fury - or asking the Government to call a debate.

Given the force of the revolt against Mr Martin, any debate is likely to
be scheduled this week.

If he is forced to go now, the Speaker would lose a £100,000 'golden
goodbye' and help Labour avoid a damaging by-election fight for his seat
in Glasgow North East.

His supporters came out fighting today, accusing critics of being
'cowardly' and spreading 'poison' and the media of treating him like a
paedophile.

Labour MP Jim Sheridan said: 'They attack a man who can't defend
himself. There is no way the Speaker knows what is going on in the Fees
Office.

'Let's get real about this. You cannot blame the Speaker for what senior
management have allowed to happen.'

But both the Prime Minister and David Cameron today left it in no doubt
he had totally lost their support.

'The whole point of the Speaker is that he must be above party politics.
So, it would not be right for the official Opposition to call for him to
go or to force him to go. But clearly this issue has to be resolved and
resolved quickly,' the Tory leader said.

Mr Brown added: 'The decision on who is Speaker is a matter for the
House of Commons. It could never be a matter for the Government.'

The latest revelations include how Commons officials - for whom the
Speaker is responsible - allowed MPs to carry on making inflated claims
on their mortgages.

Labour MP Ben Chapman said he paid off a £295,000 chunk of his loan but
was told to go on claiming the same amount of interest.

The Commons office was also reported to have allowed other MPs to claim
on such 'phantom mortgages', raising concerns the problem was
widespread.

After claims he was slow to react to the crisis, Prime Minister
insisted: 'What we have seen in expenses and in the revelations has
angered and appalled me.'

Calling for root-and-branch reform, he said: 'We are no longer talking
about papering over the cracks. We are no longer talking about a minor
change here or there.'

He is ' hopeful' of securing a consensus on a 'complete clean-up' of the
system to restore public trust in politics, he added.

'Some MPs are doing a very, very good job - indeed most of them are. But
where there are faults, and where there are failings and where people
are responsible, they have to accept that there will be disciplinary
action.'

Further revelations today include:

* Ruth Kelly claimed £31,000 on her second home in five years and
tried to claim items including a £2,000 high-definition plasma
television;

* Ed Vaizey, a key ally of David Cameron, has furniture worth £2,000
delivered to his London home when he was claiming for his second home in
Oxfordshire.

Met Chief Sir Paul Stephenson has insisted the police will not shy away
from an inquiry into MPs' expenses.

'We will not back down where there is an obvious and clear need to
investigate and people can be confident about that,' he said.

A panel formed by Sir Paul and the Director of Public Prosecutions to
look into the issue will meet today.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson was this morning the latest Cabinet
minister to avoid giving Mr Martin his full backing.

It came after Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg went the furthest by calling on
Mr Martin, whom he described as a 'dogged defender' of a 'rotten
Parliament', to go now.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband also publicly criticised him and his
Tory counterpart William Hague demanded the crisis be sorted in days.

Mr Clegg told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show that the Commons needed a Speaker
who was a 'reformist to his or her fingertips'.

He added: 'Westminster is now engulfed by a political crisis the likes
of which we haven't seen for generations. I have arrived at the
conclusion that the Speaker must go.'

Mr Miliband said the Speaker did not 'get it right' when he criticised
MPs last week, and refused to declare confidence in him.

Former Home Secretary Charles Clarke has became the most senior Labour
figure to call on Mr Martin to quit.

'Michael Martin is not the right man to oversee the necessary reform of
the members' allowance system,' he told the Guardian:

'It would be best if he stood down so a new Speaker could take on that
responsibility immediately. '

Shadow Foreign Secretary Mr Hague told Sky News yesterday: 'This is
clearly reaching crisis point. This has to be resolved immediately if
the Commons is to go about its business and the country is to have
confidence in that.'

Mr Martin's spokesman refused last night to say whether he would address
his own position in today's statement, which will be 'focused on how to
resolve the problem of allowances as swiftly as possible'.

The Speaker's spokesman said he had a 'fruitful' meeting last week with
Sir Christopher Kelly, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in
Public Life, who is now charged with overhauling the expenses system.

But Sir Christopher' s spokesman described as 'nonsense' the idea that
any plans announced by Mr Martin today would have the chairman's
backing.

He added: 'The meeting was more about co- operation and evidence
gathering. There was no way a compromise was thrashed out.'

Labour peer Lord Foulkes, a close friend of Mr Martin, insisted the
Speaker had no intention of quitting.

'It seems some MPs are looking for a scapegoat and mistakenly think his
departure would take the pressure off them,' he said in the Sunday
Times.

'Nothing could be further from the truth and it is not going to happen.'

He added this morning: 'I don't think he should go. I think he would be
right to say he has tried hard to reform the system.'

He claimed the Speaker's committee tried to change the allowance system
last year but many MPs had not turned up to vote.

Mr Carswell, who is behind today's motion to oust Mr Martin, was a
'constant critic, a right-wing Tory' and clearly had a political agenda,
Lord Foulkes declared.

Veteran Labour MP Sir Stuart Bell, another ally, said he believed Mr
Martin would make it clear today that he will stay on to oversee
reforms.

But Miss Hoey, who was attacked by Mr Martin in the Commons last week,
insisted this morning: 'This is not about scapegoating the Speaker.

'This is about how we move now to ensure the public have a chance of
getting back some of the trust in Parliament and its politicians.

'The problem is that we can't do the first thing without ensuring that
we're going to have a Speaker who actually wants those things to
happen.'

It is thought Mr Martin wants his son Paul, a Member of the Scottish
Parliament, to inherit his seat.

But Paul Martin has said he has no intention of going to Westminster and
does not want to rely on his father to further his own political career.

Labour officials are also believed to feel that any such arrangement
could threaten the party's majority.

Gordon Brown has promised to take 'disciplinary action' against any MPs
who cheat on expenses.

It emerged yesterday the Queen had told the Prime Minister she is
'deeply troubled' about the damage being done to Parliament's reputation
by the scandal.

Opinion polls for next month's European election showed a collapse in
support for mainstream parties.

Nationally, Labour slipped to 20 per cent - its lowest rating in
history.

The full list of MPs backing Mr Carswell's motion so far is: David
Davis, Richard Shepherd, Richard Bacon, Kate Hoey, Norman Lamb, Phillip
Hollobone, Philip Davies, Paul Flynn, Gordon Prentice, Norman Baker,
Lynne Featherstone, Jo Swinson, Stephen Williams and John Hemmings.
Straw blocked expenses inquiry, claims watchdog
Justice Secretary Jack Straw

Jack Straw was dramatically accused yesterday of blocking an inquiry
into MPs' expenses two years ago.

Former standards watchdog Sir Alistair Graham claimed that Mr Straw -
then Leader of the Commons - caved in under pressure from Labour
backbenchers.

This was despite private support from Gordon Brown, who was about to
become Prime Minister, and Sir Gus O'Donnell, the Cabinet Secretary,
accepting that the issue should be tackled.

Mr Straw's aides last night dismissed as 'piffle' suggestions that he
had pressured the independent committee to drop its planned review.

The committee, now under the chairmanship of Sir Christopher Kelly, has
been charged by Mr Brown to come up with ways to overhaul the
discredited system.

According to Sir Alistair, it had proposed a wide-ranging inquiry into
MPs' staffing, housing and travel allowances shortly before Tony Blair
stood down as PM.

However, Mr Straw who has repaid around £1,700 from overclaims on his
second-home allowance, apparently feared a back-bench revolt.

And within a month of Sir Alistair's departure in April 2007, he had
allegedly conveyed concerns about the inquiry - and the committee, which
was then without a permanent chairman, bowed to pressure.

The claim is deeply embarrassing because it suggests that a senior
government figure tried to sweep aside an issue which now threatens to
provoke a constitutional crisis.

Sir Alistair told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: 'I had a series of meetings
with Gordon Brown when he was Chancellor and it was clear he was going
to become the next
Prime Minister.'

He said Mr Brown agreed that a root-and-branch reform of the MPs'
expenses system would be a good issue for the Committee of Standards to
look at.

'My understanding - I can't prove it - is that the person who stopped
that inquiry from going ahead was Jack Straw.'

Esther Rantzen is planning to stand against a Labour MP who claimed
£22,500 in expenses to treat dry rot in her partner's home.

The TV presenter and journalist could launch an independent challenge
against Margaret Moran in her Luton South constituency.

Miss Moran has agreed to hand back the money which she claimed for a
house in Southampton. But she is facing a furious backlash in her
constituency, which she holds with a narrow 5,650 majority.

Miss Rantzen, pictured, told the Daily Mail that she will stand against
Miss Moran as an independent candidate if she receives enough public
support.

She said she was 'sick' of MPs abusing taxpayers' money.

'My reasoning is simple. Margaret Moran changed the address of her
second home to her husband's in Southampton just days before spending
£22,500 on repairing dry rot there. In all, she 'flipped' her second
home on three occasions, seemingly to take advantage of the expenses
system.'

Miss Rantzen acknowledged that the MP had agreed to hand back the cash.

'She may think this is enough. Her constituents, however, may beg to
differ - and if they do, I am more than happy to offer myself up as an
alternative. '

Miss Rantzen went on to issue a rallying cry to angry members of the
public to challenge MPs who have been found to have abused the system.

She declared: 'While the expenses scandal now sweeping Parliament is
doing untold damage to government, it may also herald a new age of
independent politicians - politicians who are less interested in party
whips than in democracy and the desire to serve it.'

Miss Rantzen urged anti- sleaze campaigner Martin Bell - who famously
unseated the former Tory MP Neil Hamilton in Tatton - to produce a
guide to political novices on how to beat MPs.

'Surely Mr Bell could now offer a new generation of hopefuls a few tips
on how it's done? Because frankly we are sick of so many of our party
political MPs, and their ghastly conspiracy to extract as much money
from us as possible.'

Former Labour Party chairman Ian McCartney has handed back almost
£15,000 to taxpayers after an expenses claim which included champagne
flutes.

The latest senior MP to be caught up in the scandal admitted that what
he charged to the taxpayer for furnishing his second home was
'inappropriate' .

The claim, submitted in 2006, included an 18-piece dinner set, champagne
flutes and wine glasses.

The Makerfield MP said that as a senior minister, he had to hold
meetings at his home. 'I had to feed people.'

He said he had asked Commons officials to review his claims two years
later after MPs voted to abolish the so-called John Lewis list and cap
spending on household items.

They suggested that only £1,400 be docked but Mr McCartney said he
'felt very strongly' that the full amount should be returned.

He added that the last ten days of revelations about the sums claimed by
MPs had been 'the most scarifying and upsetting of my 42 years in public
life'.

Married cabinet ministers Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper made a claim for
almost four times the amount of mortgage interest to which they were
entitled.

The couple, who are among Gordon Brown's closest allies, submitted the
claim for £2,600 for two months in 2007.

But the House of Commons Fees Office pointed out that they were allowed
to claim for only £733 and docked their claim accordingly.

The officials also discovered that they had submitted the same claim,
for the month of July 2006, twice.

The cabinet ministers, who are each paid £141,866 a year, yesterday
insisted they had made an 'inadvertent error'.

The husband-and- wife team also 'flipped' the designation of their second
home to three different properties within the space of two years.

The couple also regularly put in claims of £600 a month for food.

In a statement, they said: 'There was an inadvertent error in filling
out our forms. This mistake was spotted by the Fees Office and the
correct amount was paid.'

Former Cabinet minister Ruth Kelly spent more than £31,000 of taxpayers'
money redecorating and furnishing her second home in just five years, it
has been revealed.

The one time secretary of posts including education, communities and
transport filed extensive claims for building and redecoration at her
constituency home in Bolton West.

The married mother of four also lodged claims for furniture and
appliances, including a £2,000 high-definition plasma television, £2,355
dining table and chairs, £3,600 for sofa and chairs and £1,625 for a
garden table, chairs and parasol.

The latter was rejected outright by the Commons Fees Office and the
other claims were reduced for being excessive, according to the Daily
Telegraph.

Miss Kelly bought some of the items at top end shops in London - meaning
the taxpayer also picked up the delivery charges of £380.

The former minister bought her house with husband Derek Gadd in 2001 for
£109,000.

Three years later, she spent £13,000 on building and maintenance. Then
in 2005, she claimed £2,500 for painting, curtains, plumbing and other
work.

Another year down the line, she claimed a further £15,363 for
furnishings and appliances.

These included a table and chairs from Bo concept, a 37inch high-
definition plasma television and accessories for £2,000, and a £1,275
oak sideboard.

She also claimed for a £530 dishwasher, £570 washing machine, £780
curtains and rails, £625 coffee table and £160 on a rug.

The Fees Office reduced the overall claims because some were not allowed
or were too excessive and others were not accounted for on shop
receipts.

Between 2006 and 2008, Miss Kelly claimed £1,500 for work on her patio,
£1,400 for building and redecoration, £650 on kitchen equipment, £330 on
items for the bathroom and bedroom, £450 on maintenance and £300 on
gardening.

Her total claims since 2001 come to almost £120,000.

Miss Kelly resigned from the Cabinet last year and has already said she
will stand down at the next election to spend more time with her family.
Cameron ally spent £2,000 at shop of leader's mother-in-law

A key ally of David Cameron spent £2,000 on furniture from Oka - a high-
end shop owned by the Tory leader's mother-in-law.

Conservative culture spokesman Ed Vaizey also allegedly had the items
delivered to his London home when he was claiming the second home
allowance in Oxfordshire.

And the MP for Wantage claimed more than £10,000 in stamp duty and legal
fees when he moved from a rented property to a house in his
constituency.

Mr Vaizey has now paid back the £1,968.45 for the furniture because it
was considered 'higher quality than necessary'.

His wife Alexandra ordered the products from Oka, an online retailer, in
2007.

The shop was co-founded in 1999 by Lady Annabel Astor, Mr Cameron's wife
Samantha's mother.

Receipts show the MP ordered a £467 'Hurlingham' sofa and £544 Camargue
chair, a £280.50 low table and a £671 Dordogne Table.

The claims were rejected by the Fees Office because they were due to be
delivered to the couple's home in London and not in Oxfordshire.

But it was eventually paid when Mr Vaizey insisted the items were
destined for their constituency property.

He said it had been delivered to London because they were going to be
there to collect it and would then drive it to their other house.

The MP also claimed £300 for an antique chair, for which he has also
repaid the money.

He defended his claim for stamp duty and legal fees, insisting it was
clearly allowed under the rules in the Green Book.

http://www.dailymai l.co.uk/news/ article-1183897/ Brown-washes- hands-
Gorbals-Its- MPs-decide- Speakers- fate-says- PM.html

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