Shame on this MPs’ Committee for Double Standards!

DESPITE the fact that he was forced to resign in disgrace as Commons speaker after being dragged into the MPs’ expenses scandal, obituarists were kind to Michael Martin after he died just over two weeks ago.

Clearly they preferred to emphasise that the Glasgow-born former sheet metal worker was unfailingly a kind man as well as being an authentic working-class voice in Parliament.

But there was no disguising the truth that he brought shame on the House of Commons as the first speaker to resign in more than 300 years, after facing a noconfidence motion over his handling in 2009 of MPs’ abuse of their expenses.

Rather than using the opportunity to replace him with a man or woman of honour, MPs chose John Bercow — one of the most notorious expenses cheats himself. He had to repay £6,500 to the tax authorities after it was disclosed that he had ‘ flipped’ the designation of his second home between London and his Buckingham constituency.

the fact that MPs chose a man who had been one of the many who had cheated taxpayers was a clear sign that they were unrepentant.

sadly, too, those of us who predicted that Bercow would further degrade the reputation of the Commons have been proved right.

the charge sheet against him during his nine years in the post is depressingly long.

At times, he has been nakedly partisan. often taking sides, he seems to bear grudges (inviting his favourites to speak and being vindictive to those he dislikes).

on a personal level, he loves being the centre of attention and preens himself in an unseemly manner.

Also, he’s used his position as the highest authority of the Commons and as the Lower House’s representative to the Queen, to build up a power-base to promote his own private agendas and interests.

Mostshamefully he has boasted of backing Remain in the EU referendum. In a disgraceful abuse of his position, he took it upon himself to announce that President Donald trump would not be welcome to speak to Parliament, despite fawning over Aung san suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar (formerly Burma), whose army has been busy wiping out her nation’s minority Muslim population, forcing thousands to flee the country.

Inevitably, his snout is firmly in the trough. His refurbishment of his official residence cost £45,000, he enjoyed £40,000 worth of free hospitality trips over a period of three years, spent hundreds being chauffeured on short journeys, and in 2013 he ran up a £100,000 bill for travel to 20 countries.

When he took the post, he said he would step down after nine years. that deadline will be June 22, but he seems set to be reneging on that promise.

to their shame, a large number of MPs seem happy for him to stay on. this is despite a welter of recent serious allegations that he has abused his power and bullied people who work for him.

this week, members of the House of Commons Committee on standards (whose duties include dealing with matters relating to the conduct of MPs) voted on whether the Commons’ ethics watchdog should investigate Bercow over these allegations. In a typically cynical and squalid decision, they voted to block an inquiry.

true to form. this, of course, is the committee of MPs that has an appalling track record of protecting corrupt and sleazy colleagues, and which should be dubbed Commons Committee for Double standards!

Despite ruling out an inquiry into Bercow, who has been accused of a catalogue of grossly offensive behaviour and bullying against colleagues, its hypocritical members just three months previously boasted in a report of their ‘commitment to zero tolerance of sexual harassment, harassment and bullying within Parliament.’

the allegations against Bercow are so serious that they are worth outlining in detail. the most recent was made this week when he is said to have called Cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom a ‘stupid woman’ and ‘f***ing useless’ in the Commons chamber.

Previously, General David Leakey, a former Black Rod of Parliament and a man of unimpeachable honour, claimed people were ‘terrified’ of Bercow.

He said his ‘ intemperate behaviour’ was ‘ unworthy of someone in such public office’.

And with a rapier blow, he said he was ‘ not altogether a bad speaker,’ in the same way that sex-pest Harvey Weinstein was ‘not altogether a bad film mogul’.

Another allegation against Bercow was made by his former private secretary, Angus sinclair, who accused him of physically intimidating, demeaning and mimicking him before sinclair decided to take ‘compulsory early retirement’ in 2010.

Worse was to follow. sinclair’s successor, Kate Emms, was reportedly diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after less than a year working for Bercow.

I believe in the principle of innocence until proven guilty and it would be wrong to condemn Bercow on the basis of these testimonies alone.

However, there’s a deeply disturbing pattern of conduct here which ought to be examined by the Commons’ ethics watchdog.

the fact that MPs on the standards Committee refuse to allow this to happen sends out a dreadful message about the state of British parliamentary democracy. Members of the committee should have known better.

BUtthey are of a very poor pedigree. one, tory MP Christopher Chope, is a political plodder who was caught abusing the expenses system. He is said to have claimed more than £130,000 from taxpayers between 2007 and 2008, including £881 to repair a sofa.

Another member of the Committee for Double standards is Labour’s Kate Green. Despite being an ardent campaigner against domestic violence and abuse, she seemed happy to vote to stop an investigation into allegations of bullying by Bercow.

In their work, MPs on the Commons standards Committee are helped by several lay members chosen because of their detailed knowledge and experience dealing with workplace misconduct.

sir Peter Rubin is a former chair of the General Medical Council, which is responsible for the suspension and removal of misbehaving British doctors. Paul thorogood is head of Britain’s largest sports charity with great experience of protecting youngsters against the dangers of sexual abuse.

these distinguished public figures didn’t have a vote when it came to dealing with Bercow, but I can only assume their advice was ignored by MPs.

this shabby saga must end — preferably with speaker Bercow’s resignation in the next four weeks. (to my mind, happily, there is a natural successor: his capable Labour deputy Lindsay Hoyle.)

otherwise, if Bercow petulantly tries to cling on, the British public will justifiably think that their elected representatives, and especially the most senior among them, are above the law.