Nadine Dorries - Standards and Privileges Committee Contents


16.  Letter to Ms Nadine Dorries MP from the Commissioner, 9 February 2010

When I wrote to you on 2 February I said that I would be back in touch when I had analysed the further information you supplied in your letter of 25 January, including the diary evidence. I am most grateful for this further information.

You will appreciate, I am sure, that I need to ensure that I have reliable information on which to base my decision about this complaint. That means that before I seek the advice of the Department of Resources, I do need to ask you some further questions, particularly in relation to the areas where your latest evidence differs from earlier submissions.

I enclose a table[225] which identifies the estimates of your overnight stays which you gave me in your e-mail of 8 October, in your letter of 25 January and in the highlighted days in the diary extracts you sent me with the same letter.

I need to understand the reasons of the variations in your estimates. In particular:

1. 2006-07—I asked you in my letter of 2 February for a little more explanation about how the error occurred in identifying on 8 October that you spent 111 nights in the constituency when your letter of 25 January identified these as in effect, London nights. I look forward to your response.

2. 2007-08—it would be helpful if you could let me know why you omitted the 10 London nights from your e-mail of 8 October, and whether these nights account for the 9 night reduction in the constituency figure provided with your letter of 25 January.

3. 2008-09—it would be helpful to know why the estimates in your letter of 25 January differ so apparently markedly from those in your e-mail of 8 October—namely, 36 more nights in your main home, 24 fewer nights in your constituency home, 9 nights in London where there were none before and 21 fewer nights elsewhere.

4. Diary evidence 2008-09—can you help me to reconcile the overnight stays highlighted in your diary with your own estimates in your letter of 25 January? The pink highlights show 214 nights in your main home, 21 fewer nights than your estimate. I am also unclear about what the 23 orange highlighted entries for August 2008 and February 2009 signify in terms of the location of your overnight stays.

5. Main home stays 2008-09—could you help me on the pattern of your overnight stays in your main home? Your letter of 25 January says you spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in your main home and you have highlighted these in your diary. But there are an additional 76 main home nights on other days of the week highlighted in your diary—on average between one and two further nights each week. Was there any pattern to these additional weekday nights?

Could you explain how, according to your diary highlights, you spent each night in September 2008 in your main home when according to your blog entry of 15 May 2009, your daughter attended a [constituency] school from September that year?

6. 2009-10—you have provided me with diary highlights for April 2009 but not for the remaining months—May 2009 to (I assume) January 2010—to set against the estimates provided in your letter of 25 January. It would be very helpful if you could do so. And it would be helpful to know what single green highlight in the April 2009 diary represents.

Statements in the Telegraph article of 18 May

In the light of the evidence you have now given me, I should be grateful for any comments you may wish to make on this article, and particularly on the following excerpts:

"But when questioned by the Daily Telegraph about her second home, she posted a message on the Internet in which she admitted her daughter goes to school in the area, she keeps her pet dogs there and she spends many of her weekends working there."

"[Ms Dorries] wrote, 'My children stay with me when I am in the constituency. I keep the dogs at the constituency address as I am often there on my own and it confuses them being moved around.'"

It would be helpful if you could assist me reconciling these statements—if accurately quoted—with what you said in your letter of 25 January:

"... I know I am always at home on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If I have anything to attend to in the constituency I always drive home afterwards."

The Daily Telegraph references suggest that you spend many of your weekends in your constituency home; your letter says you spend your weekend nights, at least, in your main home.

It would also be helpful to know whether some or all of your children and your dogs travel with you between homes on each occasion and, if not, who looks after them when they are in your constituency home without you.

I can confirm that some of your neighbours have sent me witness evidence which I am following up with them. When I have completed this work I will let you see it.

Like you, I would like to resolve the inquiry as soon as possible so I would be particularly grateful if you could let me have a response to this letter within the next week. Thank you for your help.

9 February 2010


225   See WE 17 below. Back


 
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