Annex 2
Letter from Damian Green MP to the Speaker
of the House of Commons
I am writing to request that the material taken
from my Parliamentary Office by the Metropolitan Police, including
the relevant material on my Parliamentary computers, be referred
to the Standards and Privileges Committee, for a decision to be
taken about which parts of the material attract Parliamentary
privilege.
You will be aware that the Clerk of the House has
already expressed a view about some of the material. I refer to
the letter of 15 January written by Veronica Daly to Michael Caplan
QC, who, as you know, is representing me in this case. The letter
states:
"The (Standards and Privileges) Committee
is not presently seized of the issue because it must be referred
to it and no such reference has been made. If there is any continuing
dispute over the status of the documents, following the Clerk's
consideration of them as described above, it will be a matter
for the House to determine at the request of your client Mr Green
MP."
I am advised by senior and experienced colleagues
that it is a matter for the House to determine the question of
privilege and not officials, especially when they themselves have
been involved in the controversy over the seizure of material
from my office without a warrant.
The Clerk has suggested an extremely narrow
interpretation of what items may attract privilege. It appears
to take no account of material which originated outside Parliament
but was then used in Parliamentary proceedings or in connection
with my parliamentary work.
You may also be aware that the Metropolitan
Police are proceeding as though the Clerk's interpretation is
definitive and final. The Directorate of Legal Services wrote
on 29 January to my solicitors asserting that: "We do not
accept that your client has any privileges he can personally claim
if Parliament waives any such privilege or holds that no privilege
applies." This is in direct contradiction of Ms Daly's statement
above and would I am sure create concern on all sides of the House.
You will I know understand how anxious I am
that this matter be decided as soon as possible, as the uncertainty
over the matter of privilege is holding up the resolution of the
police proceedings, and the continuation of these proceedings
is hampering me in my role as a Member of Parliament. The next
deadline is 17 February, when I am bailed to return to the police
station. I hope therefore that the referral to the Committee can
be immediate.
3 February 2009
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