Sayeed survives de-selection
Conservative MP Jonathan Sayeed survived a de-selection bid from his constituency party last night, following allegations he profited from guided tours around Parliament.
At the meeting of members of his Mid Bedfordshire constituency party in Flitwick, Mr Sayeed won the vote of no confidence by 173 votes to 126.
Constituency president, Sir Stanley Odell, resigned in the wake of the result.
Sir Stanley said he had no confidence in the MP and would resign as president on Friday morning.
Mr Sayeed was suspended from the House of Commons for two weeks on February 8 and saw the whip withdrawn for a month following the allegations.
He has vehemently denied any intentional impropriety.
At that time, Tory leader Michael Howard described Mr Sayeed’s behaviour as “completely unacceptable”.
“I condemn it without hesitation,” the leader said.
The Commons Standards Committee recommended Mr Sayeed’s suspension after it found his conduct had “fallen well below the standards the House expects, and risked damaging its reputation”.
The case relates to Mr Sayeed’s involvement with The English Manner Limited, to which he acted as a consultant and had a 30 per cent share. The company offers luxury travel packages to the UK for Americans, including lessons in English etiquette and access to exclusive events and institutions.
As part of the package, tours of the House of Commons were publicised and on a number of occasions Mr Sayeed provided entertainment in the House for individuals connected with the company.
House rules state that members cannot exploit the privileges they enjoy as a member for personal gain or to pursue a commercial interest. This includes indirect gain, through enhancing the value of an investment.
The Commons Standards and Privileges Committee, which regulates MPs conduct, accepted that there is no evidence Mr Sayeed received any direct financial gain from occasions where he entertained people in the House who were connected to The English Manner Limited, but it did not accept his argument that all such occasions were undertaken on a purely personal basis.
It listed a number of occasions where guests could have reasonably assumed that the access they were given to parliament was as a result of The English Manner’s services.
In the wake of the scandal, Mr Sayeed resigned his consultancy to the firn and dropped his 30 per cent stake.
He has been MP for Mid-Bedfordshire since 1997.
Earlier this month, Mr Sayeed made an “unreserved” apology to MPs in the Commons.
“I accept that a complaint was brought because of ineffectual internal controls in a company in which I had an interest and that as an MP I was negligent in not checking the actions of that company,” he said.
“For that I unreservedly apologise to the House.”
