LABOUR MP Shahid Malik has stepped down as British justice minister pending an investigation into allegations made in the Daily Telegraphabout the rental deal on his main home in his Dewsbury, West Yorks constituency.
While widely regarded as “the first ministerial casualty” of the Westminster expenses scandal, Mr Malik insisted that the inquiry by Standards Chief Sir Philip Mawer had “nothing whatsoever” to do with his expenses claims but would be focused on an alleged breach of the ministerial code.
Mr Malik is not being replaced pending the inquiry, and Downing Street said the expectation was that he would return to office if acquitted of any wrongdoing.
The latest embarrassment for prime minister Gordon Brown, however, came amid renewed polling evidence that the escalating Westminster crisis is hitting the government hardest – with Labour support plummeting to just 22 points, down nine points in a week, and a full 19 points behind the Conservatives.
The Daily Telegraphreported that Mr Malik had claimed expenses of £66,827 (€75,000) over three years on his "second home" – a townhouse in Peckham, south London – while enjoying "a discounted rent" on his constituency home from a local landlord once fined for letting an "uninhabitable" house.
The Telegraphran the front page story under the headline "The justice minister, his home and the convicted landlord", while reporting details of his "second home" claims, including one for £2,600 (€2,920) for a home cinema system subsequently cut in half by the Commons fees office.
Mr Malik said: “I am confident that there has been no breach [of the ministerial code] and look forward to the findings of the inquiry so that I can continue to serve my constituents as their MP and the country as a minister with my head held high.”
The prime minister’s spokesman said that the allegation that Mr Malik received “preferential rent treatment on his main residence” raised the question of a potential benefit that had not been declared as part of his ministerial declaration – which would be a breach of the ministerial code.
Mr Malik had earlier insisted he had been “absolutely at the core” of the Commons rules in respect of his expenses as an MP. Refusing to return any monies to Westminster, he indicated he would donate the £1,050 he received for his television to worthy causes in his constituency. The former minister said he would reimburse £65 claimed for his non-payment of a council tax court summons, but defended his claim for a £730 “massage chair” for treating a back problem.
Former minister Clare Short, meanwhile, blamed the Commons authorities for failing earlier to spot her “error” in claiming more than £8,000 in mortgage payments to which she was not entitled after resigning from Tony Blair’s cabinet.
When she was eventually asked to repay the money claimed for mortgage rather than allowed mortgage interests payments, Ms Short wrote back suggesting officials “should accept some responsibility for the situation” for not spotting her error earlier. Ms Short told the Telegraph she had been “embarrassed and irritated” at the time.
With Tory embarrassment sustained by the tale of shadow minister James Clappison – who owns 24 houses and claimed more than £100,000 for expenses, including thousands for gardening and redecoration – Conservative leader David Cameron told his party’s Scottish conference too many MPs on all sides had made claims that did not stand up to public scrutiny.
The scale of public anger was also evident in the Bromsgrove seat of Conservative MP Julie Kirkbride – wife of MP Andrew MacKay, who quit as a Cameron aide on Thursday – when officials found a brick hurled through their MP’s constituency office. Mr MacKay and his wife claimed their second home allowances against two homes.