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The Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson is presiding over one of the most difficult investigations of his professional life as he prepares to act on complaints over MPs' abuse of the expense system.
More than 10 MPs may be investigated, along with at least one peeress. Officials in the Parliamentary Fees Office may also be questioned since a key question is whether there was criminal intent on the part of any MP or whether the Fees office encouraged claims that now appear unjustifiable.
Any investigation of Parliament by the police, an arm of the executive, is fraught with difficulty. The immediate precedents are not good. The police investigation of the cash for peerages affair generated much heat but ended without prosecutions. Last year's raid on the offices of Conservative immigration spokesman Damian Green was a farcical abuse of police power against an MP who was simply doing his job. Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, who authorised that raid, has already resigned after an unrelated incident.
Nonetheless, it would have been wrong of Sir Paul to place MPs' expenses in the box marked “too difficult”. If fraud is the obtaining of pecuniary advantage by means of deception, the claiming of interest on phantom mortgages would certainly seem to qualify. At a time when the public is angry that there seems to be one set of rules for MPs and a different set for the rest of us, the police could not simply conclude that investigating complaints against parliamentarians was none of their business.
Labour's “Star Chamber” has just begun work on the cases of Margaret Moran, Elliot Morley and Dr Ian Gibson, with David Chaytor's to come, while David Cameron's Scrutiny Committee is conducting its own examination of Conservative MPs' expenses. The police will need to take account of the parties' internal investigations and disciplinary procedures as these prompt admissions of guilt or otherwise. We are confident that Sir Paul will act with the utmost professionalism throughout.
A problem industry
The news is grim for workers at the Vauxhall plants in Luton and Cheshire. The Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has warned job losses are inevitable as Vauxhall's parent General Motors faces bankruptcy in the US. Then again, the outlook for car workers has been clouded for years. The world has too many factories making too many models that customers do not want. Tougher environmental requirements are unaffordable for all but the largest and lowest-cost manufacturers. The bursting of the credit bubble has removed much of the cheap finance which lured buyers into showrooms.
In what may be a sign of changing consumer attitudes, car clubs, which allow drivers to “date a car, not marry it”, are growing fast, especially in London. So it is vital that the Government does not repeat the mistakes of the past. We cannot throw good money after bad in an attempt to prop up a contracting industry. We have been here before with British Leyland. The Unite trade union wants loans and guarantees to match those being offered by German Chancellor Angela Merkel to GM Europe. However, at a time when recession has increased government debt on a vast scale, that would be unaffordable.
Lord Mandelson needs to stand up for UK jobs in negotiations with the likely buyers of GM Europe but he is right not to offer any financial support before the sale. Any subsidy offered after should be viewed extremely cautiously. Redundant Luton carworkers will need cash to retrain but beleaguered UK taxpayers cannot be expected to bail out an industry that needs to reshape itself at a global level.
Market in danger
Redevelopment plans for Greenwich market show the cobbles of this historic site will be stripped out. We understand why the Greenwich Hospital charity, which owns the site, wants regeneration but the plans remove character from the area. The charity must come up with a plan that attracts more local support.
Reader views (4)
Wow! The police are going to examine the behaviour of MPs to see if they're criminal. Betcha nothing happens. And Mandy really said he was supporting the car industry? I'd better get down to the Job Centre.
- John Problem, Hackney Wick, London, UK, 28/05/2009 18:05
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Bit of a problem for Stephenson.Having decided not to nick the editor of the Telegraph for receiving stolen goods he can hardly charge any MP.
- Colin, barking essex, 28/05/2009 14:43
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Pleased to hear that Kirkbride and Moran are standing down, but it should be NOW not at the next election. These crooks are still being paid by the taxpayers until they leave office. They must not be allowed to walk away with enormous pensions. We must rid this parliament from top to bottom and as I wrote yesterday we must have two elected houses and an elected leader by the people not by their party. Incidentally what is happening to little Miss Blears and Darling Alistair the 'flipper'.Are they just poor little innocents?
- Caroline Beveridge, Roujan France, 28/05/2009 14:36
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It is not at all difficult for the police to investigate the conduct of MP's, it is far more difficult for them to justify NOT investigating the conduct og MP's.
The issue is very simple, does the rule of law apply to everyone in the UK or are MP's above the rule of law?
The Crown Prosecution Service should be intimately familiar with the law regarding offences such as fraud and deception, obtaining money under false pretences and the like.
It should not be very difficult to obtain the relevant information as all the documents have already been submitted to the House of Commons Fees Office.
If there is a prima facie case to answer then the police should investigate and the CPS prosecute. The alternative is to allow the rule of law to fall into disrepute.
- Manny Goldstein, London, UK, 28/05/2009 11:55
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