Repay the money

DOES Phil Woolas have no shame? Lampooned over his expenses, and humiliated by Joanna Lumley, he's now seeking to overturn those senior judges who, in an unprecedented move, ruled that he deliberately made false claims about his Liberal Democrat opponent.

This was an immigration minister who exploited people's prejudices for personal gain – the very worst kind of politics in a constituency, Oldham East and Saddleworth, where there's a history of racial tension.

His appeal is unlikely to be successful. Mr Woolas is surely delaying the inevitable. He appears to have lost the support of the political establishment, with the bizarre exception of the Speaker's wife, a Labour Party devotee who should, frankly, keep her own counsel while her husband, John, cleans up Parliament's besmirched reputation.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Many are still uncertain whether Mr Bercow is up to this task. His own expense claims leave much to be desired. But, if the appeal is rejected, the Speaker must order the disgraced ex-MP to repay every last penny of salary (and expenses) claimed since May 6. Mr Woolas must also be stripped of his right to severance payments and his Parliamentary pension. In doing so, it will demonstrate that there is no place for such malicious politics in Britain today.