| M/S Jacqui Smith |
| The issue: |
Dear Sir,
I quote part of an article which appeared in the Daily Mail. The decision not to ask the former discredit Home Secretary to repay the £56,000 she stole from the British tax payers is a disgrace. If she had any homnour she would resign as an MP and repay these sums. Our current Parliament is a disgrace and you unfortunately are adding to its sleazy reputation.
Suppose, for example, a British Army officer falsely claimed more than
£100,000 by giving the wrong address, he would have been courtmartialed and
sacked from the Army in disgrace.
Or suppose that one of the Home Office civil servants who reported to
Jacqui Smith had done the same thing. He or she would have been arrested,
charged and jailed.
And yet a Home Secretary can apparently escape with no punishment beyond
apologising to the Commons.
The decision to let Ms Smith off so slightly shows that British politicians
believe that there is one law for themselves, and another for ordinary
people. Nor should it be forgotten that, as Home Secretary, Ms Smith was
responsible for law and order!
Worryingly, the chairman of the committee which let off Ms Smith with such
a light rap on the knuckles was Sir George Young, who was promoted over the
summer by David Cameron into the Shadow Cabinet with a special mandate to
clean up the Commons. |
| Date Issue Raised: |
17 Oct 2009 |
| My response: |
Thank you for the email.
I stood down from the Committee of Standards and Privileges on September 11th, and neither chaired nor attended the meeting that disposed of Jacqui Smith's case. The Mail have been told, but have so far declined to clarify what they said.
Best wishes, George Young |
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Sir George Young Bt MP: Constituency and Parliamentary Website