[Today's News] from [The Guardian]
Shahid Malik resigns as minister as expenses scandal deepens
Junior justice minister ordered to step down from post during inquiry into his allegedly subsidised rent of Dewsbury home
Andrew Sparrow, Patrick Wintour, Deborah Summers and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Friday 15 May 2009 11.54 BST
Article history
Gordon Brown today ordered Shahid Malik to stand down from his post as junior justice minister pending an investigation into claims that he broke the ministerial code with his expenses claims.
A Downing Street spokesman said that the prime minister had asked Sir Philip Mawer, the independent adviser on ministerial interests, to conduct an inquiry as quickly as possible and his report could come within days.
"There have been accusations made in the past 24 hours against Shahid Malik, in particular that he received preferential rent on his main residence," the No 10 spokesman said.
"Because that allegation would represent a potential financial benefit and that potential and alleged financial benefit was not declared as part of his ministerial declaration, this could represent a breach of the ministerial code.
"In line with the procedures of the ministerial code, the matter has been referred to the independent adviser on ministers' interests."
He added that, pending the outcome of Mawer's investigation, Malik would be stepping down as a minister, although he would not be replaced.
The spokesman stressed that the expectation would be that Malik would return to office if he was cleared.
The move comes after the Daily Telegraph revealed that Malik designated his London flat as his second home, which allowed him to claim more than £60,000 on the property over three years. He designated as his main home a three-bedroom house in his Dewsbury constituency that he rents for £100 a week, according to the paper.
Malik said he had gone "one million per cent by the book" in claiming for his second home.
The Telegraph also reported that he claimed £2,100 for a 40-inch flatscreen television, although the Commons authorities only agreed to pay him for half the sum.
Today Malik insisted that he was "as straight as they come" and that nearly every other MP in the country had spent the same amount as him. But he pledged to donate the £1,050 he claimed for the TV to worthy local causes in his constituency.
He told Sky News: "I will not be giving it to the authorities in parliament because it is legitimately mine. But as a gesture I am giving that to good causes in my constituency, and I think it will be appreciated by those who receive it."
Malik also criticised the Sky interviewer for allegedly following a political agenda. "You are running with the Conservatives' agenda, and obviously the way that they have played this has been more detrimental to Labour than to anybody else," the minister said.
Much of the reporting about his expenses claims was "absolute nonsense", he added.
The Telegraph reported that Malik had run up the highest expenses claim of any MP, claiming second home allowances of £66,827 over three years on his house in London.
Malik's second-home claims were also said to have included £730 for a "massage chair" and £65 to cover a court summons for non-payment of council tax.
Malik, one of the fast-rising 2005 Labour intake, denied breaking any rules, saying the expenses system was inherently flawed. He declined to discuss the Telegraph's claim that he was renting a house in Dewsbury at below the market value, saying: "That is my private business."
He added: "I spend half the week in Dewsbury and half the week in London and claim on my second home in London. I have not broken any rules. It is correct that I put a claim in for a home cinema system costing £2,600. I rang the fees office and asked if there was a limit to what I could spend before I bought a TV, and they said no. I did think at the time that was madness.
"When I put the claim in they came back and said I had exceeded the limit. They later apologised and in the end they paid half. I was a new MP and in hindsight I am sure there are lots of things lots of MPs would do differently. The system was inevitably going to fail."
He agreed last night to pay back the council tax fees.
The Telegraph said that his landlord in Dewsbury, local businessman Tahir Zaman, had told them: "He is definitely paying well under the market value rent" for the house. "I'm renting [out] the next-door [property]. It's half the size of his property. They pay me more rent than he's paying me."
Malik's case is likely to go in front of the Labour national executive committee on Tuesday, along with that of Elliot Morley.
Gordon Brown yesterday suspended the party whip from Morley, a former environment minister, for claiming £16,800 in mortgage interest payments for a mortgage that had already been paid off.
Morley yesterday met the chief whip, Nick Brown, to say he would stand down from the party and put his case in front of the parliamentary commissioner for standards.
Brown also sacked Morley as his climate change envoy. The chief whip said Morley's suspension did not impute guilt. Morley has apologised and blamed sloppy accounting.
Shahid Malik resigns as minister as expenses scandal deepens
Junior justice minister ordered to step down from post during inquiry into his allegedly subsidised rent of Dewsbury home
Andrew Sparrow, Patrick Wintour, Deborah Summers and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Friday 15 May 2009 11.54 BST
Article history
Gordon Brown today ordered Shahid Malik to stand down from his post as junior justice minister pending an investigation into claims that he broke the ministerial code with his expenses claims.
A Downing Street spokesman said that the prime minister had asked Sir Philip Mawer, the independent adviser on ministerial interests, to conduct an inquiry as quickly as possible and his report could come within days.
"There have been accusations made in the past 24 hours against Shahid Malik, in particular that he received preferential rent on his main residence," the No 10 spokesman said.
"Because that allegation would represent a potential financial benefit and that potential and alleged financial benefit was not declared as part of his ministerial declaration, this could represent a breach of the ministerial code.
"In line with the procedures of the ministerial code, the matter has been referred to the independent adviser on ministers' interests."
He added that, pending the outcome of Mawer's investigation, Malik would be stepping down as a minister, although he would not be replaced.
The spokesman stressed that the expectation would be that Malik would return to office if he was cleared.
The move comes after the Daily Telegraph revealed that Malik designated his London flat as his second home, which allowed him to claim more than £60,000 on the property over three years. He designated as his main home a three-bedroom house in his Dewsbury constituency that he rents for £100 a week, according to the paper.
Malik said he had gone "one million per cent by the book" in claiming for his second home.
The Telegraph also reported that he claimed £2,100 for a 40-inch flatscreen television, although the Commons authorities only agreed to pay him for half the sum.
Today Malik insisted that he was "as straight as they come" and that nearly every other MP in the country had spent the same amount as him. But he pledged to donate the £1,050 he claimed for the TV to worthy local causes in his constituency.
He told Sky News: "I will not be giving it to the authorities in parliament because it is legitimately mine. But as a gesture I am giving that to good causes in my constituency, and I think it will be appreciated by those who receive it."
Malik also criticised the Sky interviewer for allegedly following a political agenda. "You are running with the Conservatives' agenda, and obviously the way that they have played this has been more detrimental to Labour than to anybody else," the minister said.
Much of the reporting about his expenses claims was "absolute nonsense", he added.
The Telegraph reported that Malik had run up the highest expenses claim of any MP, claiming second home allowances of £66,827 over three years on his house in London.
Malik's second-home claims were also said to have included £730 for a "massage chair" and £65 to cover a court summons for non-payment of council tax.
Malik, one of the fast-rising 2005 Labour intake, denied breaking any rules, saying the expenses system was inherently flawed. He declined to discuss the Telegraph's claim that he was renting a house in Dewsbury at below the market value, saying: "That is my private business."
He added: "I spend half the week in Dewsbury and half the week in London and claim on my second home in London. I have not broken any rules. It is correct that I put a claim in for a home cinema system costing £2,600. I rang the fees office and asked if there was a limit to what I could spend before I bought a TV, and they said no. I did think at the time that was madness.
"When I put the claim in they came back and said I had exceeded the limit. They later apologised and in the end they paid half. I was a new MP and in hindsight I am sure there are lots of things lots of MPs would do differently. The system was inevitably going to fail."
He agreed last night to pay back the council tax fees.
The Telegraph said that his landlord in Dewsbury, local businessman Tahir Zaman, had told them: "He is definitely paying well under the market value rent" for the house. "I'm renting [out] the next-door [property]. It's half the size of his property. They pay me more rent than he's paying me."
Malik's case is likely to go in front of the Labour national executive committee on Tuesday, along with that of Elliot Morley.
Gordon Brown yesterday suspended the party whip from Morley, a former environment minister, for claiming £16,800 in mortgage interest payments for a mortgage that had already been paid off.
Morley yesterday met the chief whip, Nick Brown, to say he would stand down from the party and put his case in front of the parliamentary commissioner for standards.
Brown also sacked Morley as his climate change envoy. The chief whip said Morley's suspension did not impute guilt. Morley has apologised and blamed sloppy accounting.
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