Appendix 3: Letter to Mr Denis MacShane
from the Clerk of the Committee
At its meeting this morning the Committee on Standards
and Privileges directed me to write to you about a statement in
the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards' memorandum on your
case, namely that:
... my office spoke to Mr MacShane on 30th July.
My office reported to me that Mr MacShane had said that he had
not yet responded to my letter because he had been advised by
the Chair of the Committee on Standards and Privileges to answer
via his lawyer. (paragraph 114)
The Chair of the Committee denies ever having given
such advice. He has told the Committee that you approached him
in the Tea Room, saying that you had sent the Commissioner's correspondence
to your lawyer and that you would write to Mr Speaker. In response
the Chair had said that as far as he was concerned it was a matter
for the Commissioner.
The Committee considers it important to ask you whether
you maintain that you received the Chair's advice and acted on
it as is reported in paragraph 114 of the memorandum, and if
so, when and how this advice was given. If you do maintain that
you received and acted on that advice it also wishes to know whether
that was a significant factor in your lack of cooperation with
the Commissioner from July 2012 onward.
The Committee wishes to have a reply to this letter
by noon on Monday 29 October.
23 October 2012
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