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Letter from Sir Michael Grylls MP to the
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
Last week I sent you copies of all my 1989
invoices, as you requested. These were all paid by cheque and
have been registered.
As there is an explanation of every invoice,
I hope this information will assist you in clearing my name so
far as the damaging allegations made by The Guardian,
contained in your letter of the 28 January, are concerned.
I apologise that it has taken time to marry
up the loose ends, but as you saw from my books, I only kept
them for VAT and Tax purposes and it has been difficult to ascertain
some of the details you subsequently required when the offices
of IGA are closed and their books are in the hands of the Liquidator.
With hindsight, of course, I regret I did not
keep a more detailed analysis of these payments, which may imply
vagueness; but at the time I wrote up the books, the details were
not required for the Register of Members' Interests, and I did
not envisage being caught up in an Official Enquiry.
So far as the Commission payments themselves
are concerned, both Sir Geoffrey Johnson-Smith, the Chairman,
and Mr Campbell-Savours, a member of the original Select Committee,
made clear in 1990 that there was nothing wrong in receiving
these payments. Prior to 1990, the Rules of Registration were
not clearly defined. Subsequently, the Rules were amended and
clarified. As these Rules have evolved, changes have been made
so there is less likelihood of them being misinterpreted in the
future.
I repeat, again, that, other than the events
you know about, I have never done any lobbying on behalf of Harrods,
either paid or unpaid.
Nor have I received any money, by cheque or
by cash to lobby for Harrods from either Harrods or IGA from
Harrods. If I had been lobbying Ministers, Mr Fayed and Sir Peter
Hordern would have been aware of it, particularly as The Guardian
alleges it spanned five years. In the case of Ministers, Minutes
would have been kept.
I find it hard to believe that The Guardian,
who were by then investigating the relationship of Harrods, IGA
and myself would not have produced some positive evidence of
activity, or caught me out in one of their traps.
In addition, your correspondence files show
that Ian Greer wrote regularly to Mr Fayed to keep him informed
and, if Harrods had been paying me through IGA to lobby for them,
I am sure Mr Greer would have mentioned it to Mr Fayed, and kept
him in touch with what I was doing.
The truth is that neither Sir Peter Hordern,
nor IGA asked me to do anything further on behalf of Harrods
other than the events listed. If I had done anything further,
I would have told Sir Peter, as their Consultant, and I am sure
he would have told Mr Fayed.
On going through the text of my oral evidence
to you, not unnaturally after 10 years, memories seem to have
differed as to the "detail" on who initially invited
whom to the Harrods lunch and the two delegations. It is probably
best if I confirm that I went to support both Sir Peter
and IGA. In any event I would have supported the delegations
because of my role as Chairman of the Trade and Industry Committee.
What I am certain about is that I was NOT paid to attend
them.
Therefore, I repeat again, I am completely innocent
of the damaging allegations, put forward about me, listed in
your letter of 28 January, 1997.
3 March 1997
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