27. Letter to the Commissioner from
Mr Jim Fitzpatrick MP, 24 May 2010
Thank you for your letter of 18 May,[64]
further to your earlier letter dated 6 April.
In respect of point one in your letter of 6 April,
I found I could not ignore my feelings of unease at any suggestion
that I had acted improperly or against my duties as an MP. Whilst
I understood that you recognised I was entitled to bring together
constituents concerned about anti-social behaviour, but that it
should have been funded from separate expenses, ultimately I felt
uncomfortable at having to accept the charge that I had been 'in
breach of the rules of the House' . This was not influenced by
the imminence of a general election. The general election happened
to coincide with this matter.
In respect of point two of your letter, I felt that
my willingness to repay the relevant amount from the correct account
should have sufficed, without having it said of me that I had
been 'in breach of the rules of the House'. It is the spirit of
this charge that upsets me. I would emerge from the episode as
a wrong-doer, rather than as someone who had tried to do the right
thing by my constituents.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that when constituents
were raising with me real issues of anti-social behaviour, I would
have been in breach of my duty or responsibility, as their local
representative, had I done nothing.
I hope this explains my point of view.
24 May 2010
64 Not included in the written evidence Back
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