Letter from Mr Tom Smith, Parliamentary
Researcher for Mr Adrian Sanders MP to the Clerk of the Committee
on Standards and Privileges, 13 May 2009
Thank you for your letter of 12 May. I shall
be able to attend the Committee session and I would be very grateful
if the following could be taken into consideration by the Committee.
I understand that Steve Lotinga, policy advisor
for the Liberal Democrats, has admitted disclosing details of
the DCMS Committee's Heads of Report to journalists.
I acknowledge that I passed an original copy
of this report to Alice Aitken, researcher to Don Foster MP, in
January. I understand that this document, while differing from
the document referred to in your earlier enquiry, is the source
of the leak.
It has, in the past, been the practice that
I seek advice from Ms Aitken on DCMS Committee matters and this
practice involves forwarding in electronic form the committee
briefing notes to her on occasion. The Heads of Report issued
in January was included with a bundle of other documents from
DCMS Committee clerks and I can only apologise for the oversight
in not removing this document from my email to Ms Aitken. I know
of no other instance where I have forwarded such a document.
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