The ultimate sanction for shamed MPs ... barred from the bar

MPS who break Commons rules may soon get more than a slap on the wrist – they could be banned from Parliament’s bars.

The Westminster standards committee is proposing a major shake-up to the current system of sanctions for those who breach the members’ code of conduct.

One proposal is that they could be barred from services on the parliamentary estate – including the Palace of Westminster’s subsidised bars and restaurants.

Labour MP Chris Bryant, chairman of the standards committee, said: ‘For too long, the only sanctions available against MPs have been a slap on the wrist or suspension from the House.

‘The reality is breaches of conduct are rarely black and white, and so the sanctions in such cases shouldn’t be either. The

‘Will give teeth to the system’

proposals we set out will give teeth to the standards system.’

Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said: ‘It seems sensible that preventing a member from using services of the House, such as the bars or restaurants or visiting the Table Office [through which motions and questions must be put] in person, should be a sanction available.’

A report by the committee shows that it revised earlier plans to impose training as a sanction for rule-breaking MPs after Mr Rees-Mogg intervened.

Errant MPs would have been forced to attend a course under the original proposal. Instead, they will be able to choose whether to undergo any training recommended to them.

A right for MPs to issue public corrections, where incorrect information is made public, is also recommended.