Daily Express: Shamed MP to pick up £1m before he leaves

By Macer Hall Political Editor

SLEAZE shame MP Derek Conway was last night set to collect another £1.1million from taxpayers after announcing his resignation from Parliament.

The Tory backbencher – disgraced over Parliamentary payments to members of his family – yesterday agreed to quit the Commons, but only at the next election.

It means he could still net £425,000 in salary and expenses, plus a further "winding up" allowance of £74,000 over the next two years.

And the veteran MP is on course for a gold-plated Parliamentary pension paying out more than £600,000 during his retirement.

Anti-waste campaigners were last night appalled at the lavish taxpayer-funded lifestyle being lined up for Mr Conway. His political career is in tatters over payments totalling more than £45,000 to his son Freddie, 22, for "non-existent" research work.

MPs are today expected to vote to suspend him from the Commons for 10 days for "misusing" Parliamentary funds. He is also facing questions over Parliamentary payments to his elder son, Henry, 25. Both boys were educated at Harrow.

Parliamentary salaries, bonuses and overtime paid to his two sons and wife Colette – legitimately employed as his secretary – are estimated to have cost taxpayers more than £374,000 over six years.

In that period Mr Conway, 54, and his family have been paid more than £1million from taxpayers' cash.

He is expected to be ordered to repay around £13,000 to Commons authorities for the misuse in today's vote. But the sum is dwarfed by the income the MP is in line for from the taxpayer over the coming years.

Mark Wallace, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "This sorry affair strengthens the case for full disclosure of expenses and allowances."

Mr Conway, suspended from the Parliamentary Conservative Party by David Cameron on Tuesday, announced his decision yesterday to quit as MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup in Kent in a brief statement.

He said: "I have had tremendous support from my local party, my family and friends but have concluded that it is time to step down.

"Though not an original supporter of David Cameron for the leadership I believe that he has shown he has both the ability and the character to be Prime Minister and I do not wish my personal circumstances to be a distraction in any way from the real issues that have to be addressed." A senior Tory said: "Derek has done the right thing. We can now move on." Scotland Yard confirmed they had received a letter of complaint over the affair from Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidate Duncan Borrowman.

A fellow Tory backbencher last night said MPs don't need staff, family or otherwise. Philip Hollobone claimed just £400 in Parliamentary staff salary allowance last year for a research project.

He said: "I don't see why an MP needs any office staff. I prefer the personal touch in dealing with constituents and answer every phone call, letter and email myself.

"I decided I wanted to keep my expenses as low as possible. They do come from the taxpayer, after all."

Nepotism clampdown

MEMBERS of Parliament could be banned from employing close relatives after the latest scandal.

Westminster's standards watchdog Sir Christopher Kelly, yesterday suggested the affair could lead to the introduction of a "nepotism rule" in Parliament.

More than 50 of Britain's 646 MPs are understood to employ their spouses, children or other immediate family members on salaries of up to £40,000 a year.

Sir Christopher, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said: "I understand why there are calls for rules to ban MPs employing members of their families and, indeed, there are international precedents for doing this, and it could be the right thing to do."

Comments

[John McNamara]

Thanks for providing information of this nature. It supplies me with useful information in regard to the attitudes, activities and corruption here in Germany. Officials of the German government, local government and industry here very prone to and capable of severe corruption, especially where "EU" affairs are involved.
Whenever you mention any such issues in Britain, I can be sure that the same sort of thing is going to happen here.

Regards
John B. McNamara