CONSERVATIVE MPs and party officials who have spent years trying to undermine the work of Margaret Hodge, the redoubtable chairman of the public accounts committee (PAC), could be in for a shock.

The Labour MP for Barking and Dagenham has not pulled her punches over the past five years, leading campaigns against tax evasion, excess at the BBC, and BT’s broadband rollout, among other issues.

Now People can reveal that she is planning to write a book about her five years as chairman of Parliament’s most influential committee.

Mrs Hodge is currently looking for a publisher for what is likely to be an incendiary tome, lifting the lid on her battles in one of Parliament’s most highprofile positions.

The Tories – who, as the ruling party, have been infuriated by her grandstanding – are in a bit of a bind, though.

The rules of Parliament dictate that the next PAC chairman has to be from the opposition party

This means that if the Conservatives win the general election in May and form a government, they will be stuck with another five years of pitiless scrutiny by Mrs Hodge (assuming that she stands again for the job).

But if they lose, and Labour form a government, the next PAC chairman will be from the Conservative Party – and Mrs Hodge will have time to write her book.

Whatever the result in May, the Conservatives are in a losing situation.

Last week, Mrs Hodge and her committee held a reception in the glittering Jubilee Room at the House of Commons to mark their five-year term.

That came days after she made headlines when she said that Rona Fairhead should resign as the chairman of the BBC Trust because of her links to HSBC, the bank at the centre of a tax-avoidance controversy.

This prompted Sir Alan Duncan, a normally mildmannered former Tory minister in the coalition government, to fire off an intemperate letter to Mrs Hodge accusing her of “inappropriate grandstanding” and calling on her to apologise.

He told Mrs Hodge: “You were rude, abusive and bullying in a manner which brings your committee and the proceedings of the House into disrepute.”

But Mr Duncan made the mistake of making his letter public before Mrs Hodge had had a chance to read it. Given this, she did not reply.