Watchdog ‘surprised’ at verdict that MPs did not break rules
are going to keep an in-house system it is critical to make these reforms”.
He also said he was “surprised” the Commissioner decided the two senior MPs had not breached rules.
His comments came amid suggestions that David Cameron will offer Sir Malcolm a peerage in the coming months. Sir Malcolm is understood not to have been considered for elevation to the Lords while the inquiry was on.
A report by Kathryn Hudson, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, found that neither Sir Malcolm nor Mr Straw had breached “rules on paid lobbying” concerning comments they made to undercover reporters from the Telegraph and Channel 4’s Dispatches programme.
The Commons Committee on Standards, the majority of whose members are MPs, approved her report.
Miss Hudson began her inquiry after an investigation by the Telegraph and Channel 4 revealed the MPs offered to use their positions as politicians on behalf of a fictitious Chinese firm in return for at least £5,000 a day.
Mr Straw boasted he operated “under the radar” to use his influence to change European Union rules for a commodity firm that paid him £60,000 a year. Sir Malcolm told undercover reporters he was “self-employed” despite receiving an MP’s salary of £67,000, and said that he could arrange “useful access” to ambassadors.
However, Miss Hudson found “there was no breach of the rules on paid lobbying” after accepting assurances from the pair that they were speaking “off the cuff ” and not intending to back up their words with actions.
The Parliamentary Standards Committee, chaired by Sir Kevin Barron, the Labour MP, then launched an attack on the Telegraph and Channel 4, and indicated Parliament might wish to consider whether it was appropriate for media organisations to investigate MPs using undercover reporters.
Since the report was published, members of the committee have expressed misgivings about the parliamentary system. More questions were raised when the Telegraph revealed that Sir Malcolm helped appoint Miss Hudson – whose report “cleared” him.
Sir Alistair said she “probably should have declared” that, but added the link did not necessarily mean she was biased. Miss Hudson was hired in 2012 to investigate standards issues concerning MPs. Her reports are then cleared by the Standards Committee of MPs who decide on any punishment.
Sir Alistair led the Committee on Standards in Public Life, a separate body that advises the Prime Minister on standards and ethics issues.
He said most disciplinary bodies for professionals, such as doctors, accountants and opticians have a majority of lay members and at any hearing the chairman is either a lay member or legally qualified.
“I have publicly criticised the House of Commons system because it does not meet the standards of other profes- sional groups,” said Sir Alistair. The former watchdog added: “What I thought was so damaging about the whole episode was the efforts that senior people were making to attract extra work. The view that Sir Malcolm gave about his role as a member of Parliament – in affect a part-time job, plenty of time to do extra work.
“Those comments resonated about [the] whole political class.
“It is surprising that the Commissioner has given a mild description of an error of judgment rather than saying that was bringing the House of Commons into disrepute. We were not talking about novices who had just joined the system, we were talking about highly-experienced people.”
Mr Straw and Sir Malcolm both maintain they did not break any rules.
Sir Alistair also defended the undercover investigation: “We do want to know that our Members of Parliament are concerned about their main responsibilities and not looking for other additional sources of income.
“I was surprised that the commissioner was so critical of the Telegraph and Channel 4. It was a legitimate journalistic exercise,” he said.