WRITTEN EVIDENCE RECEIVED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY
COMMISSIONER FOR STANDARDS
6. Letter to Mr Jonathan Sayeed from the Commissioner
Complaint by Mr Ivan Henderson MP
I enclose a letter of complaint I have received from
Mr Henderson, following articles in the 'Sunday Times' earlier
this week. You will see that Mr Henderson asks me to investigate
whether or not you have abused Parliamentary privilege in respect
of your association with the company English Manner Limited. Following
an investigation by the 'Sunday Times', Mr Henderson alleges that
you have used your privileged access to the House and its facilities
to further the interests of the company, in which you have registered
a substantial shareholding, and that this is contrary to a general
principle that Members should not use their access to the House
or its facilities for commercial gain or to further the commercial
interests of others.
The allegation against you is, in brief, that you
have abused the privileged access you have as a Member to the
House and its facilities by exploiting it for the commercial benefit
of a company in which you have a financial interest. As you know
the Code of Conduct for Members approved by the House includes
a provision that:
"Members shall at all times conduct themselves
in a manner which will tend to maintain and strengthen the public's
trust and confidence in the integrity of Parliament and never
undertake any action which would bring the House of Commons, or
its Members generally, into disrepute."
Members are also required to observe the general
principles of conduct identified by the Committee on Standards
in Public Life, including those of selflessness and integrity:
"Selflessness: Holders of public
office should take decisions solely in terms of the public interest.
They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material
benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends.
Integrity:
Holders of public office should not place themselves under any
financial or other obligations that might influence them in the
performance of their official duties."
It might be argued that, if you have indeed abused
your privileged access to the House as alleged, you have thereby
brought the House into disrepute and have exploited your public
office for your own material benefit.
I enclose a note of guidance for Members who are
the subject of a complaint, which sets out the procedure I follow.
You will see from this that the first step is for me to seek the
comments of the Member concerned on the complaint, so that I may
consider whether the matter requires further investigation. What
is asked of the Member at this stage is a full and truthful account
of the matters which have given rise to the complaint.
Accordingly, I am writing to alert you to Mr Henderson's
complaint and to give you the opportunity to respond to it. When
you respond, it would be helpful if you could cover the following
points in your reply, along with any others you consider relevant:
1. What is the precise nature and extent
of your interest, financial and otherwise, in the company The
English Manner Limited? Has the company ever paid a dividend?
Have you ever received other payments?
2. Have you knowingly taken clients of The English
Manner Limited on tours of the Houses of Parliament and/or hosted
them at private receptions or any other events which have involved
the use of parliamentary facilities? If so, how many of these
tours, receptions or events have occurred, when have they taken
place and how many people have been involved? Have you received
any fee or other payment in relation to these events?
3. In particular, were clients of The English
Manner Limited among guests invited to a reception held by you
after a concert by the Parliamentary Choir, of which you were
Chairman, in June last year?
To help me to ascertain whether the complaint is
one I should take further, I am also seeking comments from the
Serjeant at Arms and the House's Director of Catering. I will
let you know of any salient issues which may arise from these
inquiries.
You will see that Mr Henderson has also asked me
to consider whether it is ethical for you to employ Alexandra
Messervy as your constituency assistant, given her declared interest
in the company. In order for me to evaluate this aspect of the
complaint I should be grateful for your comments on it, and in
particular to know:
1. Whether Ms Messervy is in fact employed
by you. Is she remunerated by you from your parliamentary staffing
allowance?
2. In what capacity is she employed? What are
her precise duties?
3. What are the terms on which she is employed?
Does she have a contract?
I am in touch with the House's Director of Finance
and Administration about this aspect of the complaint and, again,
will let you know of anything salient which may emerge.
I look forward to receiving your response. If you
wish to come to see me about the complaint, please do not hesitate
to contact my office to arrange this.
2 September 2004
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