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Parliament sleaze watchdog quits | |
(1 day later) | |
Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Sir Philip Mawer has resigned six months before his term finishes. | Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Sir Philip Mawer has resigned six months before his term finishes. |
Commons Speaker Michael Martin said Sir Philip had told him by letter on Wednesday that he would remain in the post only until 31 December. | Commons Speaker Michael Martin said Sir Philip had told him by letter on Wednesday that he would remain in the post only until 31 December. |
Sir Philip was appointed by the Commons in March 2002 and was due to leave on 25 June, 2008. | Sir Philip was appointed by the Commons in March 2002 and was due to leave on 25 June, 2008. |
The commissioner, wholly funded by the House of Commons, advises MPs on conduct and ethics. | The commissioner, wholly funded by the House of Commons, advises MPs on conduct and ethics. |
Mr Martin said of Sir Philip's letter: "He records in his letter that he counts it a great privilege to have been able to serve the House in such a worthwhile capacity." | |
The standards commissioner's job is to be a House of Commons "sleazebuster". | |
He received and - if appropriate - investigated complaints about MPs who are said to have broken Commons rules, with the most high profile complaints tending to be about MPs' financial arrangements. | |
He keeps and monitors the operation of the register of members' interests, which is where MPs declare other employment, property and gifts. | |
Among his high-profile investigations, in 2004 he ruled that then Home Secretary David Blunkett breached MPs code of conduct by misusing two first-class rail tickets assigned to him for his work as an MP. | |
Before being nominated for the commissioner job after his predecessor quit amid accusations of a "whispering campaign" against her, Sir Philip had a Church role as Secretary General of the General Synod and Secretary General of the Archbishops' Council since 1990. |
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