Tories Try To Limit leaze Damage

The Conservative annual conference in Bournemouth this week was supposed to be the start of the partys fightback against Labour. Instead it looks as though it will be a damage-limitation exercise, as the political agenda once again becomes dominated by allegations of parliamentary sleaze and cover-ups. The partys reputation for probity now rests, to a large part, on the judgment of one individual, Sir Gordon Downey, the commissioner for parliamentary standards. He is investigating a range of complaints about the behaviour of MPs, at the centre of which is the charge that Neil Hamilton, a former trade minister, received cash for asking questions in the Commons.

 

The prime minister on Sunday urged Sir Gordon to complete the inquiry as speedily as possible. If he could have finished it in two or three weeks I would welcome that, Major said on BBC Televisions Breakfast with Frost.

Sir Gordon, in an interview with the Financial Times, seemed immune to such pressure. He described the prime ministers suggested timetable as pretty ambitious and unrealistic.

Also unclear at this stage is the full scope of the investigation. It was sparked by the withdrawal last week of the libel action against The Guardian newspaper by Hamilton and Ian Greer, the parliamentary lobbyist.

They had been suing over The Guardians allegations, made in October 1994, that Hamilton had received cash in the late 1980s for asking questions in the Commons to further the business interests of Mohamed Fayed, the owner of Harrods. Greer was said to be the orchestrator of Fayeds parliamentary campaign. Even though they dropped their action, the two continue to protest their innocence - and have urged Sir Gordon to clear their names. However, in theory his inquiry could range much wider.

Sir Gordon pointed out that he cannot investigate at all without receiving a complaint from someone. He said yesterday that he expected the main complaint to come from Mr Fayed, although he was still waiting for Mr Fayed to oblige. If Mr Fayed sets the agenda, then Sir Gordons task could be gargantuan. He will almost certainly face pressure to consider a new Sir Gordon looking at this aspect. But other of Mr Fayeds complaints will be far more contentious. For one thing, he alleges payments to other Tory MPs. He has also compiled a dossier relating to an alleged conspiracy against himself involving ministers. The charges are widely known in the Commons and have been passed to Sir Gordon, but have never been made public. If Sir Gordon decides they need to be investigated the government will remain under a Damoclean sword for many more months.