21. Letter to Neighbour 1 (constituency)
from the Commissioner, 22 February 2010
Thank you for your letter of 18 February responding
to mine of 2 February about the witness evidence you have given
me in respect of the complaint I am inquiring into about the claims
from parliamentary resources made by Mrs Nadine Dorries MP for
her home in [her constituency].
I was most grateful for this further information.
I note that you have said that you do not wish to
be a witness to this inquiry. I can, however, only take account
of your information if it is given to me by you as a witness.
This is because it would not be fair for me to take into account
information which I could not disclose to the Member of Parliament
and the Committee on Standards and Privileges, or if necessary
subsequently publish after the conclusion of my inquiry.
I consider the information you have given me is relevant
to my inquiry. It addresses the question of how many nights Mrs
Dorries has spent in her [constituency] property, which is material
to the outcome of my inquiry. It is also the case that information
which you subsequently sent me in evidence in your letter of 22
January has already been published.
I will, therefore, be showing our correspondence
to Mrs Dorries for any comments she may wish to make and, subject
to any further representations you may wish to make about confidentiality,
I would expect your letters to be published along with the other
evidence I have received in the course of this inquiry. I would
identify you in published material as a neighbour of Mrs Dorries,
but would not publish your name or address, although, of course,
it will be known to Mrs Dorries.
One final point. I am sorry if you have inferred
from my letter that I believe you are making a complaint against
Mrs Dorries. That is not the case. You are a witness in an inquiry
into a complaint made against Mrs Dorries by another person.
Thank you for your help on this matter.
22 February 2010
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