CONDUCT OF MRS CAROLINE SPELMAN MP

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has been authorised by the Committee on Standards and Privileges to undertake an inquiry into whether Mrs Caroline Spelman MP breached the rules of the House in the arrangements she made for the employment of a secretarial assistant who was also her children’s nanny for a period from 1997.

The Commissioner had a meeting with Mrs Spelman on 9 June to discuss this matter with her. He undertook to consider carefully her request that he undertake an inquiry, despite having received no formal complaint about her conduct and that the events complained of were more than seven years ago. Such an inquiry would be exceptional and would require the agreement of the Committee.

Having carefully considered the matter the Commissioner has recommended to the Committee that exceptionally he should conduct an inquiry. The Committee has accepted that recommendation.

The Commissioner is therefore initiating an inquiry into whether the circumstances of Mrs Spelman’s employment of her secretarial assistant from 1997 breached the rules of the House in force at the time.