TWO former foreign secretaries are facing accusations that they were prepared to use their positions and contacts to benefit a private company in return for payments of thousands of pounds.

Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind have been named in an undercover investigation by the Daily Telegraph and Channel 4 Dispatches. Both men have strongly denied any wrongdoing.

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The two senior MPs were secretly filmed by reporters claiming to represent a Hong Kong-based communications agency called PMR which was seeking to hire senior British politicians to join its advisory board.

At one meeting, Mr Straw is said to have described how he operated "under the radar" to use his influence to change European Union rules on behalf of a commodity firm which paid him £60,000 a year.

He was also said to have claimed to have used "charm and menace" to convince the Ukrainian prime minister to change laws on behalf of the same firm.

The meetings to discuss possible consultancy work were said to have taken place in his House of Commons office - a potential breach of Commons rules.

Sir Malcolm, who chairs the parliamentary committee which oversees Britain's intelligence agencies, was said to have claimed that he could arrange "useful access" to every British ambassador in the world because of his status.

While members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords have been caught up in so-called "cash-for-access" scandals in recent years, Mr Straw and Sir Malcolm are by far the most prominent figures to face such claims.

A Labour Party spokesman said: "We have seen the disturbing allegations against Jack Straw in the Daily Telegraph. The chief whip has spoken to Jack Straw.

"He has agreed to refer himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and in the meantime he has agreed the best course of action is to suspend himself from the parliamentary Labour Party."

 

 

Full statement from Jack Straw

"I have been the MP for Blackburn for the past 36 years. I have always put the interests of my constituents first. I have never had my integrity questioned until this TV sting operation to which I have been subject. I have been scrupulous in ensuring that I have complied with all the disclosure requirements of Members' Interests.

Since I ceased to be a Minister in 2010, I have taken on a number of outside activities, including writing, speaking engagements, and one consultancy (with the long-established commodity suppliers, E D & F Man (Holdings) Ltd).

All of this has been undertaken fully in accordance with the MP's Code of Conduct, and on the basis of full disclosure both in the MP's Register of Members' Interests, and to anyone with whom I have dealt in the consultancy work. I had received other approaches about consultancy work whilst I continued as an MP but on each occasion I declined these.

Eighteen months ago I announced that I intended to stand down as an MP at the forthcoming general election.

Since that announcement, I have received a number of approaches about work which I might undertake after May 7 this year. In each case, after making checks, I have talked to those concerned, and in most cases taken no further action.

I dealt with the approach from "PMR Communications", the fake company established by Channel 4, in the same way. Having researched the company, I made enquiries in Hong Kong and was told that the company appeared to be bona fide, but the best way to carry out further due diligence was to meet the individuals. As events have, however, shown, my checks were not sufficient to overcome the skilful deception of the undercover reporters.

The bogus company were told at the outset that any discussions with them were about what I might do once I left the Commons, not whilst I was still a serving MP.

Channel 4 and the Daily Telegraph, despite my requests, have failed to supply me with a transcript of my discussions with the bogus company. So it is impossible to identify the context of any remarks they have taken from the transcript.

I now face the horrible situation in which what I said is being used to suggest wrongdoing when there was none. But I've spent long enough in politics to know how some of the remarks I made in what I had thought was a private conversation will now be used.

In view of this, and in order to clear my name, I have written to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to make a self-referral to her. I have also written to Rosie Winterton, Opposition Chief Whip, to say that pending consideration of my referral by the Commissioner I shall voluntarily withdraw from the Parliamentary Labour Party.

I shall continue to follow the whip, and do everything I can to help the Party of which I have been a member for 54 years to achieve victory at the forthcoming general election.

I am mortified that I fell into this trap, despite my best efforts to avoid this, and my previous public criticism of colleagues of all parties who have done so in the past. Of course I am kicking myself. However, I am clear that there was nothing that I said in the meetings which was improper. I am proud of my record as Member for Blackburn and a Parliamentarian over 36 years."