Statement by Andrew Rosindell M.P.
following rejection of complaint made by Labour M.P for Dagenham & Rainham
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards has this week cleared Andrew Rosindell M.P. of any breach of the Code of Conduct in relation to the use of Office Costs, following a complaint made by Jon Cruddas M.P. (Labour, Dagenham & Rainham). The Commissioner reviewed the allegation and quickly decided that there was no case to answer, ruling out a formal inquiry and confirming that the matter was now closed.
The complaint related to the answering of a telephone line at the offices of the Romford Conservative Association and the M.P.’s Constituency Office which operate from the same building, Margaret Thatcher House in Romford. The Labour M.P. did not check the facts of his claims before submitting his complaint, confusing the R.C.A. number with the M.P.’s constituency line. The muddle was soon resolved once Andrew Rosindell M.P. submitted a detailed rebuttal, hence the complaint was firmly rejected.
Andrew Rosindell M.P. said: “This was clearly a politically motivated accusation by the Jon Cruddas M.P. and caused much distress to my staff who answer my calls at the Constituency Office. I am disappointed that Jon did this, without checking the validity of his claims. I have always had a good working relationship with Jon as my neighbouring colleague, so I was surprised by what seemed to be a thoroughly spiteful attack on me and my team, based on false information.
He really should apologise for getting things so wrong. My professional and hard-working staff were unfairly put under immense stress and pressure over these untrue accusations. Jon Cruddas now owes them a full apology for his actions. I am aware that Jon himself now has questions to answer about his own staffing arrangements and operations, but I will not be making a formal complaint. Political sniping of this kind achieves nothing.
My priority is to look after Romford and work round the clock for my constituency, rather than to throw mud at colleagues. I hope Jon will learn from this episode and focus on serving the good people of Dagenham & Rainham, rather than political point scoring. I would like to thank the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards for his swift action to resolve this matter.”
