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Disgraced MP Derek Conway loses place on "chairman's panel"

15/02/2008

The disgraced Conservative MP Derek Conway has lost his place on what is known as the "chairman's panel" of senior parliamentarians.

The job of the panel of members is to oversee detailed debates on legislation and carries an annual bursary of £13,000.

Mr Conway, who was found to have employed his son as a researcher while he was a full-time student, has been stripped of that bursary as a result of his exclusion.

No evidence was found that the Old Bexley and Sidcup MP's son Freddie had done any work for his father's office, and it was later revealed that a close university friend had also been included among Mr Conway's employees.

As a result of his alleged misdemeanours, Mr Conway was ordered to repay more than £13,000 of public funds that had been paid to his son.

A spokesperson for the Speaker Michael Martin said Mr Conway "has been notified today… that he is no longer a member of the chairmen's panel".

But the spokesperson denied the move came as a result of public pressure and was done through "the usual channels".

Mr Conway is currently serving a ten-day suspension from parliament and he has also had the Conservative whip withdrawn by Tory leader David Cameron.

The allegations have resulted in a number of changes to the way MPs disclose who is paid what from their annual allocation of funds for employees, with all the major parties now ordering members to make full declarations about their payrolls.