Catherine Stone, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, said it was deeply disappointing for the public not to have the power to investigate 1,500 complaints about Boris Johnson’s Partygate scandal or Matt Hancock’s decision to prioritize a “buffet of animal genitalia’ in ITV’s I’m. Celebrity for his work in parliament. He also called on Rishi Sunak to appoint an ethics adviser after Christopher Geidt resigned earlier this year because a loophole in the system meant alleged breaches of the ministerial code were not being investigated. “Somebody needs to make a decision, and make a decision soon, about what happens to ministers who break or are alleged to have broken the ministerial code,” he said. “I am not the only voice who has said publicly that the prime minister really needs to make a decision about appointing Lord Geidt’s replacement.” He added: “It can’t be easy to sit as a member of parliament and know that you are subject to more scrutiny about gifts, hospitality, financial interests than someone who is a minister or secretary of state.” But when asked if she could investigate allegations that Williamson, as chief whip, told a bailout MP that “now I own him”, Stone said she could not comment because of the risk of prejudicing a research. “I have to look very carefully at any live case and I don’t want to prejudice or undermine any investigation of a live case,” he said. Labor wrote to Nadhim Zahawi, the Conservative party chairman, demanding urgent answers about whether the alleged financial bailout for an MP had been declared as a gift on the interest register and whether Williamson had consulted the Conservative party about the move. Giving evidence to parliament’s standards committee, Stone said she had received dozens of complaints about former health secretary Hancock swapping Westminster for the Australian jungle to appear on I’m a Celebrity but could not be investigated. “It considers really important questions about the proper activities of members while they are supposed to be fulfilling their parliamentary duties and representing their constituents,” he said. “A member of the public contrasted the dignity of veterans on Remembrance Sunday with a former Secretary of State and said this person was expecting a buffet of animal genitalia and wondered what had happened to the dignity of public office.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. She said the Partygate fines received by Johnson and Sunak had resulted in almost 1,500 complaints to her office, while she also received around 800 for “a newly appointed education minister making an offensive gesture” – a reference to Andrea Jenkyns raising the middle finger her in the crowds. outside Downing Street ahead of Johnson’s resignation announcement. Stone told the committee she believed the public had gone from “anger to despair” at the behavior of MPs in recent years and that she had faced “death threats” as part of her job. “I received death threats, I received very serious security threats, I received incredibly abusive mail. I think those of us who work in public life understand very well what those pressures are.” Several MPs on the committee questioned the idea that MPs should face public ire for their behaviour, saying only 3% were found to have done anything wrong. One Conservative backbencher, Sir Charles Walker, said he wished he had “someone to write to him about the anger, despair and despair I have at the behavior of a minority of my constituents”, as he highlighted the abuse many MPs have faced .
