Gordon Brown will wait until he knows the "full facts" about the arrest of Conservative MP Damian Green before deciding whether there should be any sort of inquiry into the handling of the case, the Prime Minister's spokesman indicated today.
Gordon Brown will wait until he knows the "full facts" about the arrest of Conservative MP Damian Green before deciding whether there should be any sort of inquiry into the handling of the case, the Prime Minister's spokesman indicated today.
The spokesman said that there "may well" be a case for looking into issues arising from the arrest, but stressed that this must not be done in a way which might undermine an ongoing police investigation.
Commons leader Harriet Harman said yesterday that there needed to be an urgent review of parliamentary procedures to ensure the protection of "big constitutional principles".
Her comments came as pressure mounted on Commons Speaker Michael Martin to explain why police were allowed to raid Mr Green's parliamentary office following his arrest last Thursday.
Amid speculation anger could erupt into protest, Mr Martin's office has announced he will make a statement on Wednesday when the House returns for the State Opening of the new session.
Politicians from all sides have condemned the police action, former Labour minister Denis MacShane dubbing it "a mammoth breach in the core democratic doctrine of parliamentary privilege".
And Ms Harman said: "We have got to be sure that whilst MPs are not above the law, that actually they are able to get on with their job without unwarranted interference by the law.
"These are very, very big constitutional principles, we have to make sure they are protected."
Mr Green was held for nine hours over alleged leaks of Home Office documents and was, Tory sources were quoted as complaining last night, accused by officers of "grooming" a Whitehall mole and obtaining up to 20 documents.
His treatment has provoked angry suggestions from MPs of all sides that he was being pursued for simply doing his job of holding the Government to account.
Asked today whether Mr Brown thought an inquiry was needed, the PM's spokesman told a regular press briefing: "There may well be a time when it is right to look at any specific issues arising from this case. That is the point Harriet Harman was making yesterday.
"But we can't do that without knowing what the facts of this case or in a way that might undermine the operational independence of the police."
He urged politicians and the media not to "rush to judgment" over the case.
