Nadine Dorries - Standards and Privileges Committee Contents


23.  Letter to Neighbour 2 (constituency) from the Commissioner, 2 February 2010

Thank you for your letter of 23 January about Ms Nadine Dorries MP.

I was grateful to you for providing this witness information. I attach a note which sets out the procedure I follow in taking evidence from witnesses. As you will see, since I am undertaking an inquiry, I would ask that the evidence you have sent me and our subsequent correspondence is not disclosed more widely. My inquiries are subject to parliamentary privilege and any evidence provided therefore should be treated as private and confidential to the inquiry. Once my inquiry is completed, your letter may be published along with the other evidence I have received in the course of this inquiry.

In essence, the complaint into which I am inquiring is that Ms Dorries wrongly identified her main home as her designated second home for the purposes of her claims against the Additional Costs Allowance.

The rules of the House of Commons as they were at the time provided that a Member of Parliament's main home was normally one where they spent more nights than any other. You have told me that you believe that the statement allegedly made by another neighbour that Ms Dorries "spends eighty per cent of her time" at the house in [constituency address 1] is "entirely untrue". You have not however offered me any alternative estimate of Ms Dorries' use of this property. If you can reliably provide me with an estimate of the number of nights which you believe Ms Dorries has spent at this property, ideally by financial year, I would be grateful to receive it, together with any information about the basis on which you made that estimate.

Any other points you may wish to make to help me with this inquiry would be very welcome.

It would be very helpful if you could let me have a response to this letter within the next two weeks. I am likely then to need to show it to Ms Dorries and give her an opportunity to respond.

Thank you for your help with this matter.

2 February 2010


 
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