Annex ii83
Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
on Standards and Privileges, from Mr Keith Vaz MP
Thank you for your letters of 22nd October 2001 and
24th October 2001. I will be in touch with Jo to arrange a suitable
time.
You raised the issue of delay. You may like to tell
the Committee should the matter be raised again that I wrote to
Mrs Filkin on 22nd August 2001 asking if there were any other
matters to be put to me. She replied on 23rd August 2001 saying
they were none.
After seeking legal advice to ensure that my answers
were full and accurate I gave her a reply to all her outstanding
questions on 28th September 2001.
On 19th October 2001 Mrs Filkin wrote to me with
a further 38 new questions.
Some of the matters she has raised go back 14 years
and will require asking questions of third parties some of whom
I will have to track down. I am happy to respond based on the
knowledge I have now but Mrs Filkin wants comprehensive
replies before she gives me a timetable for a conclusion to this
process. The word comprehensive like the word full
is not defined.
I can assure you that I would like this matter brought
to a quick conclusion and I am answering her new questions as
quickly as I can.
30 October 2001
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