Denis MacShane resigns as MP over expenses

This article is more than 11 years old

Former minister takes responsibility for 'foolishness' after Commons committee rules that he submitted false invoices

Denis MacShane, Britain's most tireless pro-European campaigner, ended his political career when he resigned from parliament after a cross-party committee of MPs called for him to be suspended from the House of Commons for 12 months after submitting false invoices.

The former Europe minister, who acted as an informal envoy across the EU for Tony Blair after leaving government in 2005, said he would take responsibility for his "foolishness" in the wake of damning findings by the House of Commons standards and privileges committee.

A byelection will now be held in the safe Labour seat of Rotherham which the former journalist first won in a 1994 byelection and which he held with a majority of 10,462 at the last general election.

MacShane decided to resign after Kevin Barron, the Labour chair of the cross-party committee, described the findings against him as the "gravest case which has come to the committee for adjudication".

The committee recommended that MacShane should be suspended from the Commons for 12 months, with loss of pay and pension rights for the period, after ruling that he had submitted false invoices to pay for official trips to EU countries.

He also allowed interns to keep laptops, paid for by parliament, when their internships came to an end.

The strong findings raise the prospect of a second police investigation into MacShane's expenses. The police decided to take no action against MacShane in July after a lengthy investigation. But a Metropolitan Police spokesman said Scotland Yard would now examine the committee's report. The spokesman said: "We are aware of the report and will be assessing its content in due course."

However, the police investigation may be limited because the evidence gathered by Lyon and report are subject to parliamentary privilege.

The committee report said that "proceedings in parliament cannot be impeached or questioned in the courts".

MacShane said he would resign after accepting the findings of the investigation by John Lyon, the parliamentary standards commissioner, which was launched after a complaint by Michael Barnbrook, a former BNP member. Lyon, who resumed his investigation after the police decision in July, submits reports to the Commons standards and privileges committee which then makes a recommendation about any disciplinary action.

MacShane said: "In the light of the Parliamentary Commissioner's decision, supported by the Committee of Standards and Privileges, to uphold the BNP complaint about expenses claimed in connection with my parliamentary work in Europe and in combating antisemitism, I have decided for the sake of my wonderful constituency of Rotherham and my beloved Labour party to resign as an MP.

"I have been overwhelmed by messages of support for my work as an MP on a range of issues but I accept that my parliamentary career is over. I appreciate the Committee's ruling that I made no personal gain and I regret my foolishness in the manner I chose to be reimbursed for work including working as the prime minister's personal envoy in Europe."

The committee was highly critical of the way in which MacShane submitted invoices through the European Policy Institute, which he established, to fund official trips to other EU countries. He claimed £12,900 between 2004-09 for what he described as "European travel, buying books and papers, work related to my parliamentary duties there".

The committee said: "The real mischief of Mr MacShane's actions was that the method he adopted of submitting false invoices, as the commissioner said, bypassed the checks and controls the House had instituted in a way which enabled Mr MacShane to spend public money as he thought fit." The committee was also critical of his use of laptops. "We do not believe that any reasonable member would have considered it proper to have allowed interns to take laptops provided by the public purse away with them at the end of their internship," it said.

MacShane said he "unreservedly" accepted Lyon's findings. In a letter to the committee on 26 October, he wrote: "How did this foolish and wrong behaviour come about? I was as Mr Lyon generously recognises under great pressure in this period.

"I had lost a daughter in a sky-diving accident in Australia, gone through a wrenching divorce and held the hand of my first daughter's mother, Carol Barnes, as she lay dying from a stroke for a week in 2008.

"To overcome these griefs I did what many do and buried myself in work. I accepted extra parliamentary delegation work from the Labour party. I chaired the all-party commission on inquiry into antisemitism which was hailed as a model of its kind and changed government policy. I wrote two books and hundreds of articles, but claimed under the wrong heading as Mr Lyon rightly notes. Foolishly and wrongly I paid no attention to the administration of my expenses claims.

In his resignation statement MacShane added: "I want to thank the people of Rotherham for allowing me to serve as their MP and the Labour party for allowing me over the years to fight for the causes I believe in. I have received so many messages supporting me from Labour and Tory MPs as well as members of the public, but I love the House of Commons and I hope by resigning I can serve by showing that MPs must take responsibility for their mistakes and accept the consequences of being in breach of the House rules."

A Labour spokesman had earlier signalled that MacShane would be expected to resign his seat altogether, triggering a byelection. The spokesman said: "These are very serious findings concerning Denis MacShane and we accept his statement this morning that his career as a Labour MP is effectively over. In the light of the report's recommendations to the house, the Labour party has suspended Denis MacShane with immediate effect, pending a full NEC [National Executive Committee] inquiry. We will be talking to Denis MacShane about his future and the best course of action for him and for his constituency."

In his first statement, MacShane expressed regret for his conduct but criticised Michael Barnbrook, the former BNP member who launched the complaint against him. In a statement MacShane said: "I am shocked and saddened that the BNP has won its three-year campaign to destroy my political career as a Labour MP despite a full police investigation which decided not to proceed after investigations and interviews. I am glad the committee notes that there is no question of personal gain.

"Clearly I deeply regret that the way I chose to be reimbursed for costs related to my work in Europe and in combating antisemitism, including being the prime minister's personal envoy, has been judged so harshly.

"I remain committed to work for progressive values, for Britain playing a full part in Europe, and for combating antisemitism even though I can no longer undertake this work as a Labour MP."