Lib Dem MP storms out of Commons debate calling minister an 'a***hole'

Greg Mulholland stormed out after making the remark during a fiery debate about the problems of funding hospices.

The party health spokesman was furious after Labour frontbencher Ivan Lewis refused three times to let him intervene in the discussion.

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Yesterday Commons Speaker Michael Martin was investigating the extraordinary incident.

He could force Mr Mulholland to apologise for breaching strict rules governing Parliamentary behaviour which prevent the use of offensive language.

The outburst came less than a month after a Labour minister caused uproar by dismissing complaints from troops about life-threatening kit shortages as "absolute b*****ks".

Wednesday's edition of Hansard, the official record of Parliamentary proceedings, records how Mr Mulholland used the swear word during a debate in Westminster Hall, the second Commons chamber.

Mr Mulholland, the Leeds North West MP, had made an impassioned plea about "inequalities" in funding for hospices, which care for thousands of terminally patients and their families.

Mr Lewis, the care services minister, condemned Mr Mulholland's complaints as "opportunistic and disgraceful" and accused him of playing party politics.

Hansard, which has published a verbatim report of Parliament's debates for more than 200 years, recorded the Lib Dem MP attempting three times to intervene and correct his opposite number.

As the minister ignored his third request, Mr Mulholland - who worked in marketing before winning his seat at the 2005 General Election - called out: "He's an a***hole." before storming out.

Clearly flustered, Mr Lewis attempted to continue his speech before saying to Deputy Speaker Hywel Williams, who was chairing the debate: "That was not very parliamentary language."

The Leeds North West MP had spoken passionately about "inequalities" in funding for hospices, which care for thousands of terminally patients and their families.

He warned the Government contributed only one-third of the £1.2million hospices needed every day to survive - leaving charities and hospices themselves to raise the shortfall.

Under strict Parliamentary rules, MPs who swear or make offensive comments can be forced to retract their comments and apologise.

There is an unofficial list of "unparliamentary" terms that MPs are not supposed to use, including "liar", "coward" and "traitor".

A spokesman for the Speaker's Office would say only: "The Speaker is aware of the situation and steps are being taken." But he admitted there had been no official complaint.

Mr Mulholland, 37, yesterday refused to apologise and claimed Mr Lewis was treating legitimate concerns with "contempt".

He said there were only two minutes of the debate left when he walked out.

He said: "There was quite an extraordinary response and rant from the minister. Ivan Lewis's speech was completely out of place in that kind of debate. It was really quite disgraceful.

"I made my feelings quite clear by leaving the debate."

Asked if he made the outburst, he said: "I couldn't possibly comment" before adding, "Take an educated guess".

But a video recording of the debate on the Parliament Live internet channel clearly picks up Mr Mulholland using the phrase.

Earlier this month, Hansard recorded Defence Minister Bob Ainsworth using the phrase "absolute b*****ks" during a Commons debate when it was claimed soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan were suffering life-threatening kit shortages.

It was included in the January 10 edition of the official record of a debate on the Armed Forces.

But all references to the expletive were struck from the online edition of Hansard and bound copies of parliamentary debates after Mr Ainsworth strenuously denied swearing.

Mr Ainsworth, 55, claimed the Hansard account was inaccurate. "I didn't use this word," he said. "It is not the language I use. I am telling you it is not true."

He was backed by Mr Martin, who ruled that audio and visual tapes of the proceedings were unclear and had not picked up the words.

In the circumstances, the remarks would "be removed from the permanent record", Mr Martin said.

However, a DVD of the debate - provided by the Parliamentary Recording Unit - shows the comment was made.