Disgraced Conway faces calls to quit
Friday 30th January 2009, 1:59PM GMT.
Former Shropshire MP Derek Conway was facing demands to quit today for misusing taxpayers’ money to overpay his sons – while claiming that his family had been the victim of a witch-hunt because of his gay son.
The disgraced ex-Tory MP has been ordered to pay back £3,757 that was wrongly paid to his elder son Henry to carry out research and admin duties.
The Standards and Privileges Committee – Westminster’s sleaze watchdog – found no “hard evidence” of Henry’s work and also ordered Mr Conway to apologise to the House of Commons for his actions.
Commons leader Harriet Harman asked: “How much does somebody have to take out of the public purse while they continue to hold their job as an MP?
Taxpayers’ Alliance chief Matthew Elliott said: “He should be forced to pay back all the money he pilfered, apologise, then leave.”
Mr Conway, MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, said he would comply with the committee’s wishes, but denied trying to “defraud” the public. He has already said he will stand down at the next general election.
“There was considerable evidence he (Henry) was around, doing the job,” he insisted.
The former Shrewsbury MP also claimed his family had been subjected to a “witch-hunt”.
He said he believed his case was getting particular scrutiny because Labour was trying to steer the focus away from the current cash-for-influence row, and that his son Henry was being targeted for being gay and having a “flamboyant” nature.
He also delivered a warning to parliamentary colleagues – that there were more scandals to come.
He said: “I think there will be some who will be reading this report in great detail, who will not necessarily sleep that easily in their beds tonight.”
The latest action comes almost a year to the day after the MP was expelled from the Conservative Party and forced to repay £13,160 he handed to his younger son Freddie while he was a full-time university student.
By Sunita Patel
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Quite right to, the allegation of a witch hunt is absurd, did he expect anyone in their right mind to overlook this. The man is lucky to get off so lightly. If Brown is anything like Cameron we should also expect the 4 Labour “Lords” to be sacked and if justified, prosecuted.
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oh behave yourself.
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Any one in industry or commerce would have been sacked for such a fiddle. They would possibly loose their pension and no claim for compensation would be entertained, why is he allowed to work on? any honourable person would resigned
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This is nothing to with his son’s sexuality and everything to do with Conway himself abusing his position and feathering his own nest – he deserves everything he gets – which will still be insufficient!
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He bent and fiddled the rules to the advantage of his family, the sets a poor example for the other MP’s – though there are many of them who are probably just as bad.
And what has the fact that his son is gay got to do with anything.
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Disgusting individual!
Like most of our inept MP’s he should resign.
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IT SEEMS TO BE A FAULT WITH SHREWSBURY AND ATCHAM MP’S MARSDEN JUMPED SIDES TWICE AND STAYED UNTIL THE GENERAL ELECTION AND COLLECTED HIS MONEY . C CONWAY SEEMS TO HAVE NO SHAME SO HE SHOULD BE REMOVED .
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Perhaps someone ought to tell him that gays are finally recognised as people now with equal rights and are treated as such, and his cock and bull story isn’t cutting any dice with the real people out here. Sack him I say!
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he’s ok, at least he’s not like the labour lords, remember they are the party of sleeze now, we have gone clean under david camerons skillful leadership
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Tory boy, don’t turn this into a Labour v Tory agenda.. Conway has been found guilty, except that. The Labour lords have not been found guilty(yet) im sure you and others, myself included will call for their resignation if they are found guilty. But please let the process take place. The general public like things done properly, none of this we are better than you, just facts..In this instance,a Tory MP has been caught out, people would think alot more of you, and your party if you just accepted it, and didn’t try and turn it onto the Labour party.
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bliar is the real spin king and sleeze king, we are clean now, but labour have alot of skeletons in their closet
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Oh! my goodness, confused, I was at pains to keep this balanced in my blog above but you have a short memory. Remember the John Major Government and the Labour cliche, “brown envelopes” and all the dancing in the aisles, shouting from the rooftops, broadcasting to all and sundry from the Labourites when Neil Hamilton, Johnathan Aitken and Lord Archer fell by the wayside. And they hadn’t even been before a court or even charged before Labour kicked up a racket.
The Labourites invented, in a political context, the word “sleaze” and screamed it from the heavens. They did not let up, it was headlines for years. It is only now, with the cash for peerages, Berny Ecclestone, Hinduja, Patel and the rest that they have realised that is cuts across all parties and have eased up in slating the Tories.
If Labour had not been caught bang to rights selling peerages for cash donations – yes all £15 million of it, they would still be ripping into the Tories affections. It ill behoves your protestations therefore that these ignoble Lords are lilywhite as things stand now.
Labour is more bent, £ for £ than any other party and there is no half measures with them.
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Tory or Labour sack em all, I fear the monies the Lords are pocketing will turn most peoples hair! the greed of it all is sickening.
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