‘No-one was more surprised than me’
FORMER MP HAS HIS SAY ON GRIFFITHS SEX TEXT SCANDAL
BURTON’S fomer Conservative MP Sir Ivan Lawrence has spoken about his Tory successor Andrew Griffiths and the sex text scandal he is mired in.
The barrister, who defended the likes of criminals Ronnie Kray and Dennis Nilsen, told the Mail he “could not think of anyone less likely for this to happen to” than Mr Griffiths.
Sir Ivan, who served the Burton constituency from 1974 until 1991, said of Mr Griffiths: “Whether he is fit to stand is a matter for him. Whether he could win is a matter for the local association. He was very popular.”
FORMER Burton MP Sir Ivan Lawrence has revealed there was noone more surprised than him when it emerged Tory colleague Andrew Griffiths had sent a series of sex texts to two barmaids.
Tory Sir Ivan, who was the town’s Tory MP for 23 years, also said he could not think of “anyone less likely for this to happen to” than Mr Griffiths, who he knows.
Barrister Sir Ivan was Burton MP from 1974 to 1997 and was speaking to the Burton Mail about the actions of married Mr Griffiths.
Sir Ivan said: “No-one could have been more surprised than me at these very sad events. I cannot think of anyone less likely for this to happen to.”
Well-known criminal barrister Sir Ivan, who has defended people such as the notorious Kray twin Ronnie Kray and serial killer Dennis Nilsen, described Mr Griffiths as a “hardworking and successful MP”.
Father-of-one Mr Griffiths, 47, has come under fire after it was revealed that he had sent a series of obscene texts to two Burton barmaids over a period of two weeks.
There have been calls locally and nationally for him to resign. He did resign as Small Business Minister but has said he wants to stay on as Burton MP – and he hopes to stand at the next General Election.
He has apologised for his actions and told the Burton Mail this week he intends to make a full and frank statement on his absence from Parliament soon.
Mr Griffiths also sent barmaid Imogen Treharne, 28, and her friend, who has not been named, £700 and offered to rent a flat to meet for sex.
Sir Ivan said it was a matter for Mr Griffiths and the East Staffordshire Conservative Association as to whether he should stand again at the next General Election – which the MP says he wishes to do.
Sir Ivan said: “He was a very popular and hardworking and successful member of Parliament for Burton, and I was delighted that I was succeeded as a Conservative by such an excellent MP.
“As for his future that must be entirely a matter for the local Conservative association and Andrew himself.
He added: “Whether he is fit to stand is a matter for him. Whether he could win is a matter for the local association. He was very popular.”
Mr Griffiths is the subject of an investigation into his conduct by the national Conservative Party, which he is currently suspended from, having referred himself.
However, he can still vote in Parliament, albeit technically as an independent MP.
He is also the subject of a probe by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and if it were eventually decided he had breached standards he could be banned from sitting in the House of Commons, according to the Sunday Mirror.
In the meantime, he has been the subject of three protests in the town with campaigners calling for his resignation. A rally calling on the MP to resign is also planned by the East Staffordshire Trades Union Council on Friday, October 26.