The
Commissioner's findings
3. The Commissioner has concluded that Canatxx
sponsored the dinner held for Mr Straw by donating the sum of
£3,000, which was paid into Mr Straw's constituency office
account.[1] Mr Straw should
have registered this donation in the Register of Members' Interests,
but he has admitted that he did not give proper consideration
to doing so at the time.[2]
The Commissioner notes that, following correspondence with Mr
Wallace, Mr Straw concluded in October 2006 that he should register
the donation.[3] This was
when Mr Straw was Leader of the House of Commons.
4. Unfortunately, Mr Straw's intention to register
the donation in 2006 was not acted upon, and when Mr Straw was
sent a copy of his Register entry in early 2007, he failed to
notice that the donation had still not been registered.[4]
Mr Straw eventually registered the donation in December 2008,
following the formal complaint made to the Commissioner by Mr
Wallace. The Commissioner concludes:
Mr Straw recognises that this donation should have
been registered. He has apologised that the registration was not
made within the required timescale. He takes full responsibility,
but considers that the mistakes were made entirely in good faith.[5]
5. The Commissioner finds that there has been
a clear breach of the Rules of the House, in that Mr Straw unintentionally
overlooked his obligation to register a donation in the Register
of Members' Interests.[6]
As the Commissioner states in his memorandum, it is not unusual
in such cases for the matter to be resolved without a report being
made to the Committee. In this case, however, Mr Straw's omission
in 2006 to rectify his earlier failure to register the donation
he received in 2004 was a matter that the Commissioner felt should
be reported to the Committee.[7]
Conclusion
6. We support the Commissioner's decision
to submit a memorandum to us on this case and we agree with his
findings and conclusions. Mr Straw's failure to register a donation
made to him in 2004 was a clear, albeit inadvertent, breach of
the Rules of the House. It is indeed unfortunate that Mr Straw
(a) failed to register the donation when it was received in 2004,
(b) failed to register the donation when it was drawn to his attention
in 2006 and (c) failed to notice that the donation did not appear
in his Register entry when this was sent to him in early 2007.
Mr Straw has called this a chapter of accidents.[8]
Accidents generally happen as a result of negligence, and Mr Straw
has clearly been negligent in this case.
7. We are surprised and disappointed that, of
all Members, Mr Straw should have broken the Rules. Mr Straw is
an experienced Member—indeed, the incident that led to the
complaint was a celebration of his 25 years in the House. As Home
Secretary, Mr Straw put the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums
Act 2001 on the Statute Book. As Justice Secretary, he is piloting
the current Political Parties and Elections Bill through the House.
Both have as their theme the need for transparency in political
donations. Pressure of work may explain why Mr Straw overlooked
his responsibilities, but the nature of his job should also have
been a constant reminder to him of the need to observe the Code.
8. Notwithstanding the above, Mr Straw has
apologised unreservedly and he has rectified his omission. For
these reasons, we do not recommend any further action by the House.
This case should, however, serve as a reminder to all Members—and
particularly to Ministers and to front-benchers—of the need
to ensure that their Register entries are kept up-to-date at all
times.
1 Appendix 1, para 42 Back
2
Appendix 1, para 25 and WE 13 Back
3
Appendix 1, para 46 Back
4
Appendix 1, para 47 Back
5
Appendix 1, para 49 Back
6
Appendix 1, para 51 Back
7
Appendix 1, para 50 Back
8
Appendix 1, para 53 Back
