Shameless

The Daily Mail verdict on MPs as ‘Shameless’ must be flung back in their faces.

Will the editor publish the home addresses of himself and his staff so the public can call in on them and express their views?

The reason for the delay in the publication of the expenses of 14 prominent MPs is to protect their addresses. Quite right too. Publication will happen but the risk of widespread publication of home addresses is serious.

One woman MP from the Midlands had bricks through her window over Kosovo and Iraq. Her car was stolen and torched in circumstances that indicated it was likely to have been a disgruntled constituent.

The children of another woman’s MP were harassed with a loudspeaker van outside her home bellowing 'your mother is mass-murderer' over the abortion issue. One of the children is six years old. The mother has been threatened with assault and rape by another constituent.

Another MP had a car torched outside his house. In fact it was a car belonging to his neighbour. He was also physically attacked by a mentally ill constituent.

In the early nineties Gwent Special Branch called to my home to say that an IRA hit list had been found in Limerick. My name was on it. The first six people on the previous list they found had all been killed. My family was plagued with doorstep visits by a mentally-ill man who thought nothing of calling at any time of day.

Every MP has similar problems. The obsessed, the fanatic and the mentally unstable are magnetically attracted to MPs.  Most MPs now live in their constituencies to better represent those they serve. They have the right to as much protection as possible to protect their home addresses. Again the tabloid press assumed base motives for every bit of news on expenses.

Lead by example, editors of the Mail and Sun. Publish your home addresses tomorrow.


Welsh (less than) Grand Committee.

The Welsh Grand held one of its, now rare, meetings today. It was once regarded as a substitute for a Welsh Assembly/Parliament. It was once common for a page of then broadsheet Western Mail and Daily Post to be devoted to the utterances of MPs. The St David’s debate has similar coverage.

That will not be the case tomorrow. Journalists can follow the debate from their offices so they may have been paying attention. But only one lonely soul representing the Argus turned up in the Press Gallery.

If there are no major rows at today’s ‘Grand’ the hours of questions and speeches will remain undisclosed to the nation.

Why bother continuing with a largely useless institution?

Ouch!

I was at pains to make clear in my debate yesterday, entitled 'Mission to Helmand' that I was specifically talking about the Helmand Province not the mission to the whole of Afghanistan. To make it doubly clear I began by saying

"This debate is not about the mission to Afghanistan as a whole, which received almost universal approval from the House and still does so. I am not opposed to that mission; I was not opposed to it originally. However, the decision to go into Helmand province was a terrible mistake and plenty of warnings were given to the House before that decision was taken.

I do not want our troops withdrawn from Afghanistan. There have been real advances in the country that are worth while and worth defending—improvements in democracy, in the education of women, and so on. Before the Helmand mission was launched in 2006 many of us took the view that our task was to defend such advances around Kabul and to consolidate them, but that to go into Helmand province would be to stir up a hornets nest."

Clear enough? Not quite. Surprisingly the local paper published an account of the debate. Inevitably, I suppose, the headline on the story was 'Afghanistan mission 'futile' - MP' . No doubt readers will write complaining and the paper will print the moans against the fiction that they created.

Comments

[Cymro88]

The "shameless" part of the whole expenses debacle is the continued effort by MPs from all parties - from the Speaker to the back benches - to cover up, smear and disguise the shifty accountancy that exists in Westminster.

The frankly amusing swipe taken by yourself and other MPs at lobby journalists' reporting of dodgy expenses further damages your image as "snouts in the trough" money-grabbing politicians.

Who cares what a tabloid hack gets - it's not from the public coffers. And besides, chances are media outlets (BBC inclusive) regulate their expenses claims far more effectively than the kangaroo system employed by the House of Commons.

[Oliver Arthurs]

"Lead by example, editors of the Mail and Sun. Publish your home addresses tomorrow."

Associated Newspapers and News International are private sector companies, Mr Flynn. You are presumably au faix with the notion. They do not live on taxpayers' money. Give one good reason why they should have to publish their home addresses.

[paul Flynn]

Try reading again what I said. ITS ABOUT PUBLISHING ADDRESSES- not about publishing expenses. You have swallowed the tabloid lie.

All the cases mentioned were sitting in a small group inthe Commons te room at 12.00 today. They are not specially selected but typical. The other example was me as I made clear. In a book I wrote in 1997, I did a piece called 'How to hide your address' It made similar points.

The attempt to stop publication was made by a tiny number of MPs months ago. They have given up now. The majority of MPs would like the lot published as quickly as possible. All MPs have very strong arguments to stop our addresses being published.

Before you write again, try reading the blog you question

[paul Flynn]

The Editors of the tabloids are subject to readers' rage in the same that politicains are. One MP was attacked by a constituent armed with a sword. The constituent killed his researcher. Of there is case for not publishing MPs' home addresses.

It's irresponsible of editors to presnt a story about publishing addresses as though it was one about expenses. They appear to have got their falsehood across.

[Cymro88]

The only falsehood that exists is in the diversionary tactics MPs are employing to delay the inevitable publication of their systematic abuse of expeses - in this case, trying to stop their home addresses being published.

As you yourself testify, any self-respecting nutcase or terrorist could easily locate the address of any MP they wish.

And I sympathise that many MPs want everything declared to get the whole sorry episode over and done with. But there are the other Derek Conways of this world who would quite happily put it off fo as long as possible.

[paul Flynn]

Cymro 88, Again you assume the worse.

You accept the view of the tabloids and not the true reason for the new delay, which is to avoid the publication of home addresses.

[Ash]

Paul,
I fear that it is you who are being misled. The details of expenses (without adresses) could be published now without in any way pre-judging the court case. The HOC commision has refused to do so.
The simple reason for that is that the commision is NOT just challenging on that issue but on the entire question of the public's right to know.
Paul, from your previous posts I know you understand how deeply damaged politicians are by the current situation so why are you buying the excuse? This time the tabloids are right. Publish everything apart from the adresses. What's the problem?

[paulflynn]

Ash, there is no problem. Everything will be published - excepts the addresses, I hope.