‘Watergate’ row as MP accuses her rival’s staff of raid on office
LABOUR was plunged into a ‘Watergate-style break-in’ row last night over allegations that Jeremy Corbyn’s inner circle secretly entered the Westminster office of a rebel MP.
Senior Labour MP Seema Malhotra said officials working for Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell twice made ‘unauthorised’ entries into her locked House of Commons office within 48 hours earlier this month.
She also accused the Labour leader’s office manager, Karie Murphy, of trying to get into her office when neither the MP nor her staff were there.
Ms Malhotra – who quit Mr Corbyn’s Shadow Cabinet last month in protest at his leadership – last night lodged an official complaint with Commons Speaker John Bercow and called for an investigation.
She said the attempted entries were revealed by an ‘audit’ of the electronic keys MPs and staff use to get into their offices – which showed when her door was unlocked and by which key.
Ms Malhotra said: This is extremely serious. This is a breach of Parliamentary privilege and is a violation of the privacy, security and confidentiality of an MP’s office.’
But Mr Corbyn’s spokesman said there was ‘no unauthorised access’ because the office lay within the Labour leader’s suite and Ms Murphy had her own key. Mr McDonnell’s aides also denied any attempt to break in, claiming a ‘misunderstanding’ – the staff member had assumed the office was empty as it went with the Shadow Cabinet post Ms Malhotra had resigned from.