The Standards Commissioner has concluded that Henry Smith broke Commons rules by sending out a newsletter using parliamentary stationery. The issue will not be taken further after Henry accepted the decision, apologised and reimbursed the £1,763 costs. In a letter to the Commissioner, Smith said:

“I can confirm that I accept your opinion that an inadvertent breach of the rules took place for which I apologise unreservedly. To ensure no such breach occurs in the future, I have spoken with my staff about this case and reiterated the rules that when responding to constituents they must draft correspondence on an individual basis relating to their enquiry subject matter only and not by way of a more general update… I personally accept your ruling and of course will re-imburse the House of Commons £1,762.61 for the 2,471 second class postage franked envelopes used.”

Guido’s glad Henry seems keen to stamp out this behaviour post-haste…