New plea for Major to recall Parliament

The Conservative MP Richard Shepherd yesterday urged the Prime Minister to recall Parliament, to consider the findings of the report into the Commons cash-for-questions affair.

He told GMTV's Sunday programme that a recall was up to John Major, and he added: "I'm sure the Prime Minister doesn't want his campaign to be bogged down in the torrent of abuse that's now heaped on him personally, but on the whole system as well. I think this should be stopped in the bud straight away."

Mr Shepherd, MP for Aldridge-Brownhills, said the issue went much further than party politics. "It's something that we all of us, at the back of our mind, feel that the pride that we once had in our Parliament is now the subject of innumerable rumours and a deep suspicion.

"And it undermines the authority of governments - whatever the government is - if it's believed that MPs are merely in it for what they can get, that they hide and they're deceitful and that they're taking money on the side in envelopes."

But Michael Heseltine, the Deputy Prime Minister, told BBC television's Breakfast with Frost programme that Mr Shepherd was wrong.

The delivery of a report by Sir Gordon Downey, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, was just the first stage in a protracted process which included the Commons Committee on Standards and Privileges taking evidence as a follow-up to Sir Gordon's report.

"This could take weeks," Mr Heseltine said. "The giving of the report only takes you to the next stage."

But Mr Shepherd's call for a parliamentary recall was backed by Robin Cook, for Labour, and Paddy Ashdown, for the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Cook said a Labour government would ask Lord Nolan's Committee On Standards in Public Life "to have a fresh look at the system of regulating the conduct of MPs. "As we move into the 21st century," he said, "people will not understand why the House of Commons cannot be subject to an element of independent scrutiny."

Mr Ashdown told GMTV: "This is a very, very big issue. The reputation of Parliament, as well as the integrity of the MPs concerned, is at now stake. "In fact, it may well be the biggest issue in this election - which is the gap that's grown up in public respect and trust in Parliament itself."

Brian Mawhinney, the Conservative Party chairman, said last night that his party accepted the principles adopted by the broadcasters for a head- to-head debate between John Major and Tony Blair.

He said that as far as he was concerned there was no reason for the debate not to go ahead, but he added that Labour objections were a clear sign that they wanted to "pull the plug", and Mr Blair was preparing to "chicken out".

Labour and the Liberal Democrats insisted that Dr Mawhinney was trying to "bounce" the other parties in advance of detailed discussions with the broadcasters. Labour wants fair treatment for Mr Ashdown, and the inclusion of an audience - which was objected to by Mr Heseltine yesterday - but Lord Holme, the Liberal Democrats' negotiator, said: "It's not for Dr Mawhinney, before discussions have even begun, to dictate unilaterally the terms of the debate."

Talks with the broadcasters will continue today.