Annex ii85A
File note by the Parliamentary Commissioner
for Standards
KEITH
VAZ
MP
15 NOVEMBER
2001
TELEPHONE
CALL
FROM
MR
VAZ
Lengthy telephone discussion mainly concerned about
the consent form from Mrs Williams. Mr Vaz says he gets on well
with Mrs Williams but she has been a constituent who has approached
him as a constituent and has also worked as a volunteer in his
office. Therefore he wishes to be absolutely clear that she is
giving her consent to material being made available to me. I said
that I felt that my consent form of which he had a copy, dealt
with this matter. It was his judgement what he thought was relevant
and he should let me have anything which he thought was relevant
to the questions that I had asked. I explained that if he gives
material to me it is protected by Parliamentary privilege.
At intervals he referred to a case that had been
taken against Mr Jack Straw who had released some information
in the employment file of a person. I tried to indicate that I
thought the two things were different. However Mr Vaz is very
anxious about this. He asked me whether I was sending his newly
drafted form about which he said he had consulted solicitors to
Mrs Williams. I said I was not. I felt the form that she had signed
was adequate for my purposes. I said he was now welcome to provide
me with any information he wished to deal with the matters which
Mrs Williams had raised. He then asked persistently whether Mrs
Williams had provided me with any documents which she had taken
from her file. I did not have the files to hand so I was unable
to answer that question but I have said to him repeatedly that
I have put to him all the questions which require his answers.
He said he would send me the whole file. That it
would be a copy and therefore I did not need to return it to him
and that I could use in it whatever I thought was relevant. I
stressed that I did need his answers to my questions about matters
Mrs Williams had relayed to me. I explained that it was not of
concern to me what she may or may not have said to the newspapers.
I said that was I was concerned about was what she had said to
me.
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