Annex A
Letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner
for Standards from Mr Robert Lindsay Mason
Having read your report on complaints against Mr
Roy Beggs MP, I would request that you look into three issues
spelt out below.
Firstly, did Mr Beggs provide misleading information
in the course of your investigation?
Your report quotes Mr Beggs as stating that he had
"no interest" (page xv), no "benefit" (xix)
and"no involvement" (xxv) with the company (Lintrend)
based on his land at Inver Road, Larne. However, it has since
been revealed in the press that his son, Roy Jnr., worked for
Lintrend for 14 months (Larne Times 05/04/01). Should he not have
disclosed this fact to you?
Secondly, should Mr Beggs not have declared his constituency
office at Station Road, Larne, in his Register of Interests?
I believe that Mr Beggs received planning permission
for this office in 1989. He has recently told the press that ownership
was transferred to his daughters in 1998. Should it not have been
declared in his Register between 1989 and 1998? Any consideration
of the value of the property should take into account the possibility
that it could be converted to commercial use. There are commercial
outlets adjacent to the premises.
Third, did Mr Beggs increase his parliamentary allowance
by transferring his Station Road premises to is daughters?
When asked by the press if he was now claiming parliamentary
allowance for rent on his office, Mr Beggs replied: "I think
everybody is entitled to claim a parliamentary allowance for rent".
(Larne Times 05/04/01)
Did the ownership transfer of the Station Road property
bring increased income to his family and was it permissible
for him to do this, at the taxpayer's expense?
9 April 2001
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