Fine witnesses who mislead select committees, MP urges
According Parliament's rulebook Erskine May, the Commons has not imposed a fine in 359 years, since 1666, the year the Great Fire of London broke out.
'Of course, there is the ministerial code, there are the Nolan Principles, and there is the contempt of Parliament procedures, but there hasn't been a fine since that time,' Mr Pritchard told the Commons.
'And for members and non-members alike, what is the deterrent? What is the incentive, even, for telling the truth to this place?
'Ministers of course can be brought back to the House, correct the record, but people giving evidence to select committees? There really is a gap at the moment.
'Isn't it time we put fines on a statutory basis for members and non-members alike so that we can always be assured that people are incentivised to tell the truth, and have a deterrent should they be tempted not to tell the truth?'
Commons Leader Lucy Powell said Mr Pritchard had raised a 'very, very serious issue'.
She added that there are 'many, many ways for members to hold ministers account', including by raising points of order, asking questions, and making complaints through a standards procedure.
Conservative MP Mr Pritchard later told the PA news agency: 'The current sanctions for ministers and MPs work quite well, but for non-member witnesses giving evidence to Parliament, the sanctions are weak to non-existent.
'Fines for contempt before a select committee, for example, need to be put on a statutory footing.
'This will act as both a deterrent and incentive for all public officials and external witnesses who might be tempted, on the rarest of occasions, to mislead Parliament whilst giving evidence before any of Parliament's committees.'
The Wrekin MP added: 'Currently, anyone apart from members and ministers can lie to Parliament, if they were so tempted, and get away with it.
'That is a significant gap in Parliament's powers to scrutinise.
'Other Parliaments have considerably more powers than Westminster to sanction anyone who lies to the legislature.'
New Zealand's House of Representatives is one such Parliament, where its members can agree to fine people up to 1,000 US dollars for contempt.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
22 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ghislaine Maxwell demands immunity before testifying to Congress
Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted sex trafficker and associate of Jeffrey Epstein, says that she is willing to testify before Congress but only if certain conditions are met, including being granted immunity, according to a new letter sent to the House oversight committee by her lawyer on Tuesday. Last week, the House committee on oversight and government subpoenaed Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence, to testify via deposition next month at a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, where she is currently in custody. But in a new letter on Tuesday addressed to James Comer, a Republican who chairs the House committee, Maxwell's lawyer, David Markus, said that Maxwell was willing to testify but that testifying 'from prison and without a grant of immunity' were 'non-starters'. Markus wrote that their initial reaction to the subpoena was that 'Maxwell would invoke her Fifth Amendment rights and decline to testify at this time.' 'As you know, Ms Maxwell is actively pursuing post-conviction relief – both in a pending petition before the United States Supreme Court and in a forthcoming habeas petition,' Markus wrote. 'Any testimony she provides now could compromise her constitutional rights, prejudice her legal claims, and potentially taint a future jury pool.' But, in the following paragraph, he states: 'However, after further reflection, we would like to find a way to cooperate with Congress if a fair and safe path forward can be established,' adding: 'Several conditions would need to be addressed for that to be possible.' The conditions in the letter include a grant of 'formal immunity', that the interview not take place at the correctional facility, that the committee's questions be given to her in advance, and that the deposition not be scheduled until after the 'resolution of her Supreme Court petition and her forthcoming habeas petition'. 'Ms Maxwell cannot risk further criminal exposure in a politically charged environment without formal immunity,' the letter states. In the letter, Maxwell's lawyer said that if the demands were not met, Maxwell 'will have no choice but to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights'. In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the oversight committee said that the committee 'will respond to Ms Maxwell's attorney soon, but it will not consider granting congressional immunity for her testimony'. At the end of the letter from Maxwell's lawyer on Tuesday, her lawyer also made a plea for clemency. 'Of course, in the alternative, if Ms Maxwell were to receive clemency, she would be willing – and eager – to testify openly and honestly, in public, before Congress in Washington, DC,' the letter states. 'She welcomes the opportunity to share the truth and to dispel the many misconceptions and misstatements that have plagued this case from the beginning.' Last week, officials from the Department of Justice met with Maxwell over two days, amid growing pressure on the Trump administration to disclose more details about the Epstein case. This comes as earlier this month, the justice department drew bipartisan backlash, including from some Trump supporters, after announcing that it would not be releasing further documents from the Epstein case, despite earlier promises by Trump and the US attorney general, Pam Bondi, to do so.
The Guardian
36 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Taiwan president scraps Latin America trip amid reports the US opposed stopover in New York
Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te will delay an expected trip to his country's remaining allies in Latin America, amid conflicting accounts of the reason for the postponement. Lai was expected to travel to the Americas next month, as his government seeks to shore up support in a region where many countries have cut diplomatic ties in favour of relations with China, which claims Taiwan as its territory. Amid reports that the Trump administration had opposed a proposed stopover by the president in New York, his government said Lai had no overseas travel plans due to domestic issues, including natural disasters and tariff negotiations with the United States. However, one person with knowledge of the discussions told the Associated Press that the US 'had asked Taipei to rearrange the transit – not go through New York.' The Financial Times reported the US denied permission for Lai to stop in New York after China raised objections with Washington about the visit. The United States has traditionally facilitated transits by Taiwanese leaders, but Lai's trip was bound to infuriate Beijing at a time when US President Donald Trump is trying to negotiate a deal on trade with China. Beijing regularly denounces any shows of support for Taipei from Washington. The cancellation has drawn concerns from experts that the White House is setting a bad precedent for US-China relations. However, embassy officials in Guatemala insisted the visit had been postponed because of the 'typhoon that caused many natural disasters' in Taiwan. A source speaking to Reuters said Lai needed to organise his government's response to extreme weather at home. Taiwan is still recovering from Typhoon Danas, which struck its densely populated west coast this month with record winds and brought widespread damage to its electricity grid and some houses. Asked about a delay, US state department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told a regular news briefing no travel plans had been announced so the issue was 'hypothetical.' 'At this point, there have been no … travel plans for the president. There has been, as a result, nothing cancelled,' she said, while reiterating that US transits by high-level Taiwanese officials 'were fully consistent with our longstanding policy and practice.' Jason Hsu, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former legislator in Taiwan, said Taipei always consults with the United States on transit and called it 'abnormal' for Washington not to agree when such stopovers are permitted under the Taiwan Relations Act. He added that if the US had prevented Lai's stopover, the Trump administration would appear 'to be accommodating China's red lines.' Democrats on the house foreign affairs committee accused Trump of folding to Beijing. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is the top Democrat on the house's China committee, called it 'another example of the Trump administration caving to China in hopes of reaching a trade deal.' 'Presidents of both parties have allowed Taiwan officials to transit through the US in the past, and now should be no different,' he said in a statement. With Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
Some North Carolina Democratic lawmakers break from party to pass Republican priorities
North Carolina Republican lawmakers on Tuesday overrode several vetoes by Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, getting just enough votes from Stein's own party to enact some laws while falling short on others. The votes were key tests for Republican General Assembly leaders since they narrowly lost their veto-proof majority following last fall's elections. Both chambers enacted eight of 14 vetoed measures to further their conservative agenda, including laws that target transgender rights, allow firearms on private school property and eliminate an interim greenhouse gas reduction mandate. The GOP is one seat shy in the House of overcoming vetoes at will. Lawmakers were able to convince anywhere from one to three House Democrats to override on some measures. 'It depends on what the issue is, but on most issues, we're going to have a working supermajority,' House Speaker Destin Hall told reporters after session. Democratic leaders managed to keep intact other vetoes issued by Stein, meaning GOP goals to let adults carry concealed handguns without a permit and eliminate DEI initiatives are derailed for now. Republicans "didn't override them all. I mean, we might come back and override them if they have the numbers," Democratic Rep. Pricey Harrison said after Tuesday's session. 'It's a heck of a way to do policy.' Possible Democratic victory on transgender bill ends in defeat House Democrats weren't able to uphold the governor's veto on a bill targeting transgender people when one of their party members broke ranks. The legislation initially ran as a bipartisan measure curbing sexual exploitation of women and minors on pornography websites. But several contentious provisions were tacked on later, such as recognizing only two sexes and preventing state-funded gender transition procedures for prisoners. Freshman Democratic Rep. Dante Pittman voted for the measure in June but on Tuesday sided with Stein's veto instead. Another Democrat, Rep. Nasif Majeed, sided with Republicans to override Stein's veto. 'I had some moral issues about that and I had to lean on my values,' Majeed told reporters of the bill after the vote. DEI bills blocked for now In one of their biggest victories, Democrats blocked three bills that would have restricted diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the state by staying unified in their opposition. Two of the bills would bar certain 'divisive concepts' and 'discriminatory practices' related to race and identity in K-12 schools, public universities and community colleges. The third bill would ban state agencies from implementing diversity, equity and inclusion programs or utilizing DEI in hiring practices. Hall told reporters he expects the chamber will overcome the remaining vetoes, such as the DEI bills, at some point. 'If people are out and the numbers are there, we're going to vote to override,' Hall said. Mixed results on guns and immigration Republican lawmakers fervently prioritized legislation on guns and immigration this session, but in some cases, they couldn't complete that agenda Tuesday. A vetoed bill allowing permitless concealed carry for eligible people over the age of 18 wasn't heard in the House. That bill already faced an uphill battle after two Republicans voted against it with Democrats last month. House Republicans also failed to call a vote on vetoed legislation that would require several state law enforcement agencies to engage in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown by formally cooperating with federal agents. Other legislation on guns and immigration followed the pathway to becoming law. A bill that allows certain people to carry firearms onto private school property with administrative permission passed with support of a Democrat. Another Democrat's support also pushed through a separate immigration measure expanding the offenses that would require a local sheriff to check a detained person's legal status in the country. Interim greenhouse gas mandate gets repealed Enough Democrats joined Republicans in overriding Stein's veto of legislation that largely addressed activities of Duke Energy, the state's dominant electric utility. The new law in part repeals a portion of a bipartisan 2021 law that told electric regulators to work toward reducing carbon dioxide output 70% from 2005 levels by 2030. A directive in the 2021 law to meet a carbon neutrality standard by 2050 is still in place. Republicans said the 70% reduction mandate was unnecessary and if eliminated would moderate electricity rate increases required to meet the 2050 standard by allowing use of less expensive power sources. Stein and environmental groups opposed the measure, saying that eliminating the 2030 standard and other provisions will result in higher consumer rates by having utilities rely more more on natural gas to generate electricity.
