Speaker on brink over expenses

THE Speaker of the House of Commons was under mounting pressure to quit last night as damaging new details emerged about his wife's use of taxis and further questions were raised about his expenses claims.

Officials admitted that Michael Martin's wife, Mary, had taken taxi rides in London with her housekeeper, contradicting previous claims that she had been accompanied by an official. Martin's spokesman quit last night over the taxi row, blaming officials who had "led (him] to mislead" journalists.

Scotland on Sunday can also reveal Martin last year charged £17,000 in expenses against the cost of running his home in Glasgow, even though Land Registry documents suggest he does not have a mortgage on it.

Martin's expenses claim on his house is within parliamentary rules and MPs can claim up to £22,100 to help with the cost of running a second home. But critics last night questioned why he would need to charge the taxpayer so much for a house if, as the documents suggest, it has no mortgage. The revelations came amid claims several senior MPs are being canvassed to replace Martin.

Asked for clarification about his expenses claims last night, a spokeswoman for Martin would say only: "The Speaker obeys the rules and the spirit of the rules."

In recent weeks it has emerged that Martin had used air miles from official flights to help meet the costs of journeys for his family over Christmas.

He also faced questions over large taxi bills run up by his wife. This had been explained by claiming that she was accompanied by an official on parliamentary business. But the pressure was piled on yesterday afternoon when Martin's spokesman, Mike Granatt, revealed he had quit, admitting he had unwittingly handed out incorrect information over Martin's wife's taxi claims.

It has emerged that the passenger was the Martins' housekeeper. This raises the possibility that Martin might have to repay the amount, £4,280.

In a statement, Granatt declared: "I found it no longer possible to work as media adviser to the House of Commons Commission and I have informed the Speaker that I am stepping down immediately.

"It is core to the ethical code by which I and my company operate that I tell the truth and I am given the truth to tell. I learned on Friday that I had been led to mislead journalists over material facts of a story concerning the Speaker's household's use of taxis. I have expressed my regret. I wish to make it clear that this is no fault of the Speaker."

Granatt added: "I had been told she had been accompanied by an official. And, in fact, the person concerned was the

housekeeper." Granatt said that the "implication" of the taxi journeys was therefore very different from what had previously been suggested and he had to quit.

The new revelations come with Martin facing intense pressure to stand down from the job he has held since 2000, when he took over from Labour MP Betty Boothroyd.

It was reported yesterday that four senior MPs are being canvassed to see whether they would be interested in becoming Speaker. MPs are powerless to get rid of a Speaker, but many critical MPs hope the pressure of the current row will see Martin resign. Friends, however, say that he is determined to stay on until after the next General Election, claiming he is the victim of snobbery and discrimination.

The post of Speaker is one of the most prestigious in British politics and comes with a £138,000 salary and a grace-and-favour house in the Palace of Westminster.

On Martin's expenses for 2006-07, he is listed as spending £17,346 on the Additional Costs Allowance (ACA), which MPs use to pay for the costs of running a second home or, if they do not have a home, staying in hotels.

It can be used for mortgages, rent, utility bills and maintenance. A spokesman for Martin said he used it for his Glasgow home.

Martin also claims £7,595 as Incidental Expenses Provision (IEP), which can be used to meet the cost of running an office. As Martin's house is his office, this too pays for his home.

Martin bought his luxury detached home in Bishopbriggs, Glasgow, in 1998 for £173,000. Local property records suggest it has now easily doubled in value. Land Registry documents suggest he did not take out a mortgage on the property.

Although Martin has not broken the rules, critics are now demanding to know why, if there is no mortgage, he requires such large sums of expenses to help pay for it.

Earlier this month, the multi-millionaire Conservative MP Michael Ancram was criticised after he used the ACA to clear moss from his mortgage-free home.

Former independent MP Martin Bell said last night: "Of course this is in the rules – the House of Commons sets the rules. I think he should go now. We are in a grave parliamentary crisis. Now is the time for him to step aside."

The Speaker's office last night refused to say whether or not he did have a mortgage at the property. An official said: "All this information is in the public domain and is published every October. The Speaker obeys the rules and the spirit of the rules."

A spokesman for the Taxpayer's Alliance said: "Michael Martin is supposed to oversee the rules on MPs' allowances, but his behaviour leaves a lot to be desired. People have precious little faith in politicians as it is."

Martin's rise from slums to Speaker's chair

Eddie Barnes

WHEN Sir Sean Connery had dinner with Michael and Mary Martin at their apartment in the House of Commons, they found they had something in common. They believed themselves to be the victims of snobbery. Connery's advice was to ignore it.

It will be difficult to ignore his critics today. Martin is facing huge pressure to step down, has seen his spokesman resign and is now, following investigations by this newspaper, facing questions over why such large sums of taxpayers' cash are being spent on his Glasgow house.

Despite his nickname of Gorbals Mick, he is not from that part of Glasgow. He was brought up in a slum tenement on the other side of the Clyde, in Anderston, not far from the site of the Hilton Hotel. He failed his 11-plus exam and met his wife Mary working in a factory where he was serving his apprenticeship as a sheet metal worker.

What he lacked in qualifications, he made up in ambition, rising through Glasgow council politics into Westminster, where his networking skills saw him rise quickly through the ranks.

He was well aware of the need to maintain strong local links, and with his son Paul becoming MSP for Springburn in 1999, the family has now tied up the north-east of Glasgow as its own. Politics is, says one commentator, "the family business".

Martin's ambition was on show in 2000 when he broke the parliamentary convention – that a Labour MP should be followed by a Tory – to actively campaign for the Speaker's job.

Friends say one of his problems is that he has brought the shop steward mentality to the Commons, and has been overly concerned with protecting MPs' interests.

This has been apparent in recent week when, faced with a crisis of confidence in the Parliament sparked by a series of scandals involving MPs expenses, he turned to a group of 'establishment' MPs to carry out a review. For many, this was proof positive that Martin did not have what it took to clean out Westminster's mucky stable.

But he also found himself isolated from his old comrades as a result of the job – which was why his wife had to come down from Glasgow every week to keep him company.

His many critics in the Parliamentary gallery argue he has long failed to master the House, still relies on his clerks for advice and simply doesn't have the brains for the job. He has long been the butt of the sketchwriter's barbs – it was one of the scribes in the gallery who coined the nickname he so hates.

The vitriol has served to rally his allies around him. On Friday they hit back at what they described as a "nasty", "sickening" and "pernicious" campaign to get rid of him.

But there are also other friends who currently despair at the way Martin has given ammunition for his critics. The revelations last weekend that he had used air miles built up on official business to help pay for a series of flights for his family were met with exasperation. "It's just so stupid of him," said one friend.

The fresh row over his and his wife's conduct will only cement that view. It has been a long road from the slums of Anderston to the Speaker's chair. But now many are asking: has that road come to an end?