Shamed MP says sorry 
after expenses scandal

In a letter to the Yorkshire Post, the former Labour Minister said he accepts ”full responsibilty” for his actions in making false claims on his expenses and describes his actions as “stupid” and “mad”.

“How do I say sorry?” his letter begins. “Rotherham has been such an important part of my life and I have let this wonderful town, its terrific people and my constituency down so very badly.”

It was disclosed yesterday that police have met prosecutors to consider re-opening the criminal investigation into Mr MacShane’s expenses.

A joint panel has been reconvened to look at whether a damning Commons report into the former Minister contains usable new evidence.

Scotland Yard dropped the case against Mr MacShane in July after receiving advice from the CPS on an initial evidence file.

However, last week’s report by the cross-party Standards and Privileges Committee – which concluded the ex-Labour MP deliberately filed 19 misleading receipts – has sparked calls for a renewed probe.

Mr MacShane, who quit his Rotherham seat rather than face a 12-month suspension from the House, wrote a series of frank letters to the standards commissioner detailing his actions. But the Commons authorities insist they are protected by parliamentary privilege and would not be admissible in court. A by-election is to be held in Rotherham on November 29.