Political

Labour MP found guilty of misusing Parliamentary resources – again

Labour MP Rosena Allin-Khan will have to apologise to Parliament after being caught misusing Parliamentary resources for political campaigning:

On 2 November 2019, Dr Allin-Khan sent 1,624 letters (of which one was received by complainant) using House of Commons headed paper and pre-paid House-provided envelopes. The letter was entitled “Brexit Update”…

The Commissioner concluded that Dr Allin-Khan’s letter used “public resources to highlight to a group of voters her position and record on an issue that was one of the key themes of the imminent election” and “contained an important personal campaign message, which [ … ] had the effect of seeking to support Dr Allin-Khan’s return to office.”

The Commissioner therefore concluded that Dr Allin-Khan breached the House’s
rules…

[In addition] The Commissioner concluded that in using the complainant’s contact details for purposes unconnected to her parliamentary duties, Dr Allin-Khan had committed a
minor breach of paragraph 15 of the Code.

As well as apologising to Parliament, she will also have to repay £1,142.52.

But this is not the first offence. As the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards wrote:

Dr Allin-Khan’s breach of paragraph 15 of the Code of Conduct cannot be concluded by way of the rectification procedure. This is also the third inquiry that I have undertaken into the conduct of the Member since she was first elected in June 2016. I am concerned that repeated breaches of the rules may indicate a lack of proper attention to the House’s system of standards.

As a result, special follow-up measures are also being put in place:

We further recommend that Dr Allin-Khan agree with the Chair and two other members of the Committee steps she will take to prevent any further breaches of the Code. In three months’ time and six months’ time from the publication of this report, the Chair and two other members of the Committee will review with her the progress that has been made. We reserve the right to issue a further report on this matter. We would regard any further breach of the Code of Conduct by Dr Allin-Khan which evidenced a lack of proper attention to the rules as a matter which might call for a more serious sanction.

House of Commons Committee on Standards: Dr Rosena Allin-Khan

Here is the full report.

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