A Pint of Bitter: MPs in the dock, a journalist questioned – and Gordon’s brown sugar

The huge scandal about MPs’ expenses that began last summer simply rolls on and on, and it’s becoming more confusing, not less, as audit upon audit comes together with reform upon reform. First Sir Thomas Legg audited the past expense claims of MPs, and ordered sums to be repaid – all the party leaders – Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg – being among those who had to repay money to the taxpayer. Then MPs appealed those findings to a judge appointed for the purpose, Sir Paul Kennedy – and some of them succeeded in having their bills reduced. On top of that, it’s no longer clear that another Kennedy, Sir Ian this time, who heads the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, will implement in full the recommendations for expense reform made by yet another knight of the realm Sir Chris Kelly, who chairs the Committee on Standards in Public Life. Each new wrinkle in the tapestry seems, to many ordinary voters, a new opportunity for MPs to avoid responsibility for the misdeeds of the past; it is far from clear that most MPs truly yet “get it” or that Parliamentary culture has really changed.

Elliott Morley | Steve Punter | CreativeCommons

There are, though, three MPs who certainly do “get” how serious this all is – because the Crown Prosecution Service has begun criminal proceedings against them for the offence of false accounting, a serious charge for which they could well, if found guilty, face imprisonment. Elliot Morley is the best known of the three Labour members, having served as a minister. He and David Chaytor MP are accused of claiming non-existent mortgage costs and rent on properties they owned, while Jim Devine MP is accused on claiming for cleaning and stationary on the basis of false invoices. A Tory member of the House of Lords is also being prosecuted. They first appear in court on March 11, and are unlikely to be tried until after the general election but their defence is already controversial – it’s thought they are likely to argue that as MPs their conduct was protected by Parliamentary privilege, and so in effect immune from prosecution. Privilege is an ancient and important constitutional principle protecting MPs from arrest for the things they say in Parliament. Whether privilege really covers expense claims, I doubt; if the courts rule that it does, the scandal will have taken yet another dramatic and controversial turn.

The White Bear, Kennington

At the same time, a journalist is being questioned by police over his involvement in a man’s death many years ago. Ray Gosling is an outstanding journalist well known for documentaries and local broadcasting in the North and midlands, covering the unusual, the personal and the unglamorous sides of real life in an immediately recognisable style that could be deeply serious, literate but also ironic. I remember some of the work he did for Granada TV in the 70s and 80s – thoughtful broadcasting that drew you in. Here’s a (low quality, I’m afraid) video of him in his pomp, and here’s a more recent follow-up. In his most recent documentary for BBC East Midlands he’s confessed to smothering an unnamed lover who at some time in the past was dying from AIDS, and in incurable pain. The police presumably suspect him of murder. The police and CPS may have a difficult decision to make about whether a murder prosecution would be in the public interest – I can’t, myself, see how it would. Ray Gosling may take comfort in the knowledge that, whatever the professionals think, any trial would be before a jury – a system that is essentially fair and unbiased according to the findings of a major research report by Professor Cheryl Thomas of University College London. I hope Ray Gosling faces no charge. If he does, I hope he’s acquitted. And without for a moment suspecting him of cynical motives, I hope this incident, which has raised his profile massively, ends up with his making truckloads of money out of this. Because another tragedy is that Gosling was poor and on the verge of bankruptcy a few years ago. How can that happen to such a talented broadcaster? All too easily, I’m afraid, in our glamour-obsessed celebrity culture.

Piers Morgan | thisiscow | CreativeCommons

A different sort of confessional interview this week was Gordon Brown, who spoke on ITV last Sunday to Piers Morgan (the former Daily Mirror editor, and stalwart of ungoslinglike celeb culture) in an attempt to show his real character to the country. Those who don’t know much about Brown will be interested to see him discuss how he proposed to his wife Sarah on a windswept Scottish beach, and the death of their new-born daughter Jennifer. They may also be surprised by the young student radical Brown and his bevy of female fans – the “Brown Sugars”, who he seems to remember very well from the days of free love. I’d have advised him to open up much more about the distant past – even about sex – but even this quite cautious outing may have done him some good. Certainly Brown is a fascinating figure, however you view his politics – you may still be able to watch the interview for a couple of weeks on ITV Player.

The Star, St. John's Wood

I haven’t mentioned beer yet, I notice. I did, though, visit the Star in St. John’s Wood, a pretty pub with decent beer and a fire, spoiled somewhat by an intrusive telly and music, and by nasty, modern, square-block tables that are frankly out of place; and before that I went to the White Bear in Kennington, just south of the river, which is not great for beer but fantastic if you like to watch sports on big screens, which are many. There is a very good reason to visit the White Bear, though – it has a small theatre at the back and often puts on interesting fringe shows. If that wasn’t enough to make me feel okay about ordering yet another pint, I could remind myself that Gordon Brown admitted to regularly sinking six or so back in his Edinburgh days. Perhaps one day I’ll be as successful and unpopular as him.