Denis MacShane hits back at Ipsa “smears”

Labour MP Denis MacShane has hit back at Ipsa (Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority) for publishing their own account of his difficulties with the new MPs’ expenses system.

The former Europe minister says that “IPSA should not be keeping secret files on MPs without informing them and Ipsa would not be releasing inaccurate and one-sided material to the press to smear me.”

He says that the incident report released by IPSA after an FOI request misrepresents what went on and has produced his own account of the event:

“The facts are that directly after the election MPs exhausted by the election campaign were told they had to go on an IPSA induction course before they would be permitted to claim the fares from their constituency.

I went to one with a very nice young woman similar to my daughters. She was a volunteer and had been told by IPSA to train me in the impossibly difficult computer systems which has defeated most MPs and outside experts ever since.

After about ten minutes I became upset that I could never learn the system and I would not be able to carry out my duties as an MP. Learning Chinese would be easier. My frustration upset me and made me cross and then to my horror I saw the young lady was upset.

I never used bad language, raised my voice or made any criticism of her. To the young lady I was a grumpy middle-aged MP who she did not know. I am sad that IPSA should have put these volunteers in this position and do not understand why ISPA did not behave more professionally given the complexity of the new system and take more time to help MPs come to terms with it.

The moment I saw the young lady was upset I interrupted the session and went and bought her the biggest box of chocolates I could find. If she would to come back to have tea in the Commons it would be a pleasure.”