Mr Jack Straw - Standards and Privileges Committee Contents


13.  Letter to the Commissioner from Rt Hon Jack Straw MP, 21 November 2008

Thank you for your letter of 11 November 2008 regarding the complaint you have received from Mr Ben Wallace MP about a dinner held in my constituency to mark the 25th anniversary of my election as an MP.

You will be aware that I have already written to you regarding Mr Wallace's complaints (our letters will have crossed in the post). I enclose a copy for your convenience. I am also in receipt of your letter dated 13 November, and I hope this reply answers your questions.

You asked me four specific questions:

1.  What were the circumstances which led to Canatxx making a contribution to the celebratory dinner?

The approach to Canatxx and their attendance at the dinner was made by Lord Taylor of Blackburn. Lord Taylor is a long standing friend of mine. He was Leader of the Blackburn Borough Council in the mid-seventies. He has been a contributor to Blackburn Labour party's election expenses in respect of my parliamentary candidature. He is an adviser to Canatxx. I played no part in the approach. Lord Taylor has said that he is happy to let you have more details if you wish.

2.  What consideration you gave then or subsequently to the registration of any such donation received from Canatxx and what your conclusions were?

Though clearly I should have given the matter of registration of this donation proper consideration at the time it was made, I am afraid that because of my work load and because of the nature of the event, which was neither fund-raising nor partisan, I did not do so. I also assumed with good reason that the very assiduous officers of the Blackburn Labour party, especially its then Treasurer Mr Michael Poultney, would ensure compliance with any registration requirement under the 2000 Act. What I did not know at the time, nor did Mr Poultney, was (as I explained in my earlier letter) the cheque from Canatxx was not paid into the Blackburn Labour party account but instead by my then PA in into the account which she ran in respect of constituency office expenses. This meant that Mr Poultney was never aware of the donation. Had he been he would have registered the donation with the Electoral Commission and almost certainly have alerted me of the need to make a registration too.

In April 2006 Mr Wallace asked me a Parliamentary Question to which I made reference in my earlier letter to you. Although it was not directly relevant to the answer, I thought that for the sake of completeness I should make clear to Mr Wallace that Canatxx had been a sponsor of the celebratory dinner, and I duly did so. It has therefore been on the public record of Parliament since then, albeit not on the register.

In September 2006 a letter dated 20 April 2006 from Mr Wallace was received by my constituency office in Blackburn. (The letter evidently got mislaid in my move from the Foreign Office in early May 2006). As you will note from your file both my Blackburn office and I replied in similar terms to Mr Wallace on 21 and 22 September.

My then Principal Private Secretary in the Commons Leader's office, [ ], with whom I have discussed the matter, tells me that it was I (in light of the correspondence from Mr Wallace) who asked him to find out from your office whether this donation should have been registered, or submitted for late registration. Both his and my recollection of exactly what happened next is, at this distance, a little hazy. But he and I are clear that in the light of the advice from your office I said that I should make a late registration, and he thinks I asked him to send a letter or email to that effect to the Registrar. As to quite why that did not happen neither he nor I can shed any light. On 28 September 2006 I received a rather fulsome acknowledgement from Mr Wallace [WE 14], and thought no more of the matter until Friday last, 7 November 2008, when my office was contacted by the Sunday Times.

3.  Whether any financial contributions to this event were made by any other individual, body or institution at a level above the threshold provided in the Guide to the Rules?

To the best of my knowledge and belief no other contributions to this event were made by any other individual, body or institution at a level above the threshold provided in the Guide to the Rules.

4.  Whether you consider that any donations from Canatxx or anyone else should have been registered by you in the Register of Members' Interests.

As this was a donation "linked to membership of the House" I recognise that this donation should have been registered, and I am very sorry that this did not happen. I should like now to make a late registration under the rectification procedure specified in the annex to your procedural note.

I hope however that it will be accepted that the mistake in not registering the donation arose in good faith, and that you may consider the fact I disclosed the sponsorship quite voluntarily in answer to Mr Wallace's Parliamentary Question of April 2006 is a clear indication that at no stage did I have any intention whatsoever of concealing this donation or acting in a manner outwith the requirements of the House.

I should like to state for the record that beyond the sponsorship Canatxx provided for my anniversary event, I have never had any dealings with them on any matter whatsoever, not before the dinner, during it or subsequently.

In summary, I think the circumstances here can but be described as a chapter of accidents. Because the event was being organised as town event to mark my 25 years in office, and far from being a partisan political event a very wide cross section of people involved in the Borough (including the police the NHS, the Bishop, and those of other political opinions) were attending, we were not instinctively as alert as we should have been to the registration requirements. In addition, there were complications in organising the event because of the time taken off through sickness of my then Personal Assistant in my constituency office.

May I add this? I have throughout my long parliamentary and Ministerial career sought to observe the highest standards, and specifically always to register any benefit which could remotely come within the regulations. It is a matter therefore of deep regret to me that for the reasons stated this did not happen, for which I of course take full responsibility; but the mistakes were made entirely in good faith.

I hope this is helpful and answers your letter in full. If you wish for any further information I should of course be happy to produce it. I am copying this, with a covering letter to the Electoral Commission.

21 November 2008


 
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