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GG agrees to suspend Parliament until January (CBC News)

Canadian PM: I can suspend Parliament

Canadian leader suspends Parliament

Canada suspends parliament in reprieve for under-fire PM

Guardian Unlimited

- 10 hours and 38 minutes ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/58623?ns=guardianpageName=World+news%3A+Canada+suspends+parliament+in+reprieve+for+under-fire+PMch=World+newsc3=guardian.co.ukc4=Canada+%28News%29%2CWorld+newsc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CNorth+America+Travelc6=Mark+Tranc7=2008_12_04c8=1129067c9=articlec10=GUc11=World+newsc12=Canadac13=c14=h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FCanada" width="1" height="1" //divpThe Canadian government won a reprieve today when the governor general agreed to suspend parliament until late January, putting off a no-confidence vote that the prime minister was expected to lose./ppIn a controversial decision, Michaëlle Jean agreed to the suspension request from the prime minister, Stephen Harper, who is trying to cling to power less than two months after winning re-election./ppJean, the representative of the Queen as Canada's head of state, holds a mostly ceremonial position as governor general, but she has the power to accept or reject any request from Harper to suspend parliament. /ppBefore today's meeting between Harper and Jean, the opposition said a suspension of parliament would only delay what they saw as Harper's inevitable defeat. /ppIn a televised address yesterday, Harper condemned the opposition plan to gain power through a no-confidence vote as undemocratic and vowed to use "every legal means" to stop the attempt to unseat his minority Conservative government./ppA Canadian government has never been thrown out by a no-confidence vote to be replaced without an election. /ppHarper will now work on a budget that includes a stimulus package amid criticism from the opposition liberal leader, Stephane Dion, that the government has no plan to respond to the shocks from the global economic slowdown./ppThree opposition parties have banded together in an attempt to unseat the government. The coalition, which has promised to fast-track billions in dollars in spending as the country heads into recession, has the backing of Canada's beleaguered car and forestry sectors./ppCanadians are split on whom to support. According to an Angus Reid poll for Canadian TV, 64% do not support Dion becoming prime minister in a coalition government, but 53% oppose the Conservatives' current economic policy. Some 57% are concerned about the separatist Bloc Quebecois's role in the coalition. /ppAnalysts say Canada's political paralysis is unprecedented. A Canadian governor general has never before refused a request by the prime minister to temporarily suspend parliament, but such a move had never been requested to delay a no-confidence vote when it was clear the government lacked the confidence of a majority of MPs./pp"There is no precedent whatsoever in Canada and probably in the Commonwealth," said Ned Franks, a constitutional scholar and political scientist. "We are in uncharted territory."/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/canada"Canada/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/1-n6fWMUqwHAmQ6adBsfMCGAxYc/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/1-n6fWMUqwHAmQ6adBsfMCGAxYc/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

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confidence vote,suspensions,scientists,opposition parties,scholar

Canadian PM says he can suspend Parliament

Canadian PM fights to stay in power

Guardian Unlimited

- 13 hours and 7 minutes ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/90555?ns=guardianpageName=World+news%3A+Canadian+PM+fights+to+stay+in+powerch=World+newsc3=guardian.co.ukc4=Canada+%28News%29%2CWorld+newsc5=Not+commercially+useful%2CNorth+America+Travelc6=Mark+Tranc7=2008_12_04c8=1128964c9=articlec10=GUc11=World+newsc12=Canadac13=c14=h2=GU%2FWorld+news%2FCanada" width="1" height="1" //divpThe Canadian prime minister, Stephen Harper, is expected to try to suspend parliament today in an attempt to hang on to power, less than two months after he won re-election./ppHarper will holds talks with the governor general to try to avoid an opposition no-confidence vote next week that the government would probably lose. /ppThe governor general, Michaelle Jean - the representative of the Queen as Canada's head of state - holds a mostly ceremonial position, but has the power to accept or reject any request Harper might make to suspend parliament. /ppIn a televised address yesterday, Harper, condemned the opposition plan to gain power as undemocratic. He vowed to use "every legal means" to stop the no-confidence vote to unseat his minority Conservative government and replace it with an opposition-led coalition./ppIf the coalition succeeds, it would be the first time a Canadian government has been thrown out by a no-confidence vote and replaced without an election./ppA cabinet minister has suggested that Harper would ask Jean to suspend parliament until next month, giving him time to present a budget that includes a stimulus package. /ppThe opposition liberal leader, Stephane Dion, has accused the government of having no plan to deal with recession and said that a suspension of parliament would only delay Harper's inevitable defeat. /ppCanada's political crisis stems from the government's response to the global economic crisis. Three opposition parties have united against the government's handling of the economy, accusing it of failing to come up with a suitable response to the crisis./ppCanada's beleaguered car and forestry sectors are backing the coalition, as it has promised to fast-track billions in dollars in spending as the country heads into a recession./ppCanadians are split on who to support. According to an Angus Reid poll for Canadian TV, 64% do not support Dion becoming prime minister in a coalition government, but 53% oppose the Conservatives' current economic policy./pp57% are also concerned about the separatist Bloc Quebecois's role in the coalition. Analysts say Canada's political paralysis is unprecedented./ppCanada's governor general has never refused a request by the prime minister to temporarily suspend parliament, but nor has one been asked to suspend parliament to delay a no confidence vote when it was clear the government lacked the confidence of a majority of MPs./pp"There is no precedent whatsoever in Canada and probably in the Commonwealth," said Ned Franks, a constitutional scholar and political scientist. "We are in uncharted territory."/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/canada"Canada/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/unvBe_owKcwhhk6rlqXnYQmbeBU/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/unvBe_owKcwhhk6rlqXnYQmbeBU/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

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confidence vote,suspensions,economy,scientists,opposition parties

Canadian PM to seek crisis delay

Canadian PM bids to avoid defeat

Stephen Harper Shuts Parliament to Keep Power

Brian Burger: Canadian Politics, Suddenly Interesting!

Planet Ubuntu

- 22 hours and 41 minutes ago

img class=face src=http://planet.ubuntu.com/heads/bburger.png alt= pCanadian politics are frequently very, very dull - according to even most Canadians, never mind anyone else. No charismatic, exciting leaders. No mobs occupying airports and being threatened by the military. Nobody burning cars in the street./p pThankfully./p pWhat we've got instead, currently, is a control-freak Prime Minister desperately attempting to hold onto his minority government's power. a rel=external href=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/12/03/harper-address.htmlCBC quotes PM Harper/a as wanting to use every legal means at our disposal to protect our democracy, to protect our economy and to protect Canada, mdash; but what he mostly seems to want to protect is his own power./p pA huge number of Canadians (possibly including PM Harper) appear to have taken a basic Canadian PolSci course... Westminister-style democracies (this would include Canada...) do emnot, repeat not/em elect governments as Mr. Harper claims. We elect Parliaments, which then emform/em governments. When one party has a clear majority in Parliament (which hasn't happened in Canada for several Parliaments in a row now) that party forms the government. When you have a minority, generally the largest party gets to be the government mdash; but if a coalition of other parties can make a government work, that is emjust as legitimate and democratic/em as a simple minority single-party government./p pSeriously, this is very, very basic Canuckistani political science, folks. Why does it seem to be so broadly mis-understood?/p pFor the record, no, I don't like Mr. Harper. I don't like emany/em of the current four big-party leaders very much, though. Harper has been trying to run his minority government as if he had a majority, though, and he needs a good, sharp reminder of the emother/em options available under Canada's system. Which also have the side-effect of removing him from the Prime MInister's office, to his obvious distress.../p pThe CBC has a a rel=external href=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/12/02/f-governor-general.htmlgood overview article on the current state of the mess/a. Making Light has a thread on a rel=external href=http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/010835.htmlthe basic discussion/a and a spinoff, awesomely geeky thread a rel=external href=http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/010837.htmlattempting to express Westminister-style democracy in pseudo-code/a. Planet Ubuntu readers - go check that last one out, it really is a hoot./p pIn the meantime, no, we aren't having a coup up here in the Frozen North. No great anti-democratic seizure of power, really, despite Mr. Harper's ranting and much confusion at many levels. More people need to take first-year university Political Science courses.../p

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charismatic,repeats,threads,economy,democracy

Speaker Michael Martin's allegations set constitutional crisis rolling

Guardian Unlimited

- 1 days and 4 hours ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/14725?ns=guardianpageName=Politics%3A+Speaker%27s+allegations+set+constitutional+crisis+rollingch=Politicsc3=The+Guardianc4=Michael+Martin%2CDamian+Green%2CConservatives%2CPolice+%28politics%29%2CPolitics%2CUK+newsc5=Policy+Society%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CUnclassifed+Contributorsc6=Nicholas+Wattc7=2008_12_04c8=1128407c9=articlec10=GUc11=Politicsc12=Michael+Martinc13=c14=h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FMichael+Martin" width="1" height="1" //divpA constitutional crisis was sparked yesterday when Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons, all but accused the Metropolitan police of breaking the law by failing to follow proper procedures before searching the parliamentary office of Damian Green MP./ppAmid growing cross-party criticism of his handling of the affair, the Speaker took the unprecedented step in modern times of censuring the police. In a nine-minute statement he expressed his "regret" at their failure to produce a search warrant - and their failure to explain to the Commons authorities that the officials were entitled to demand such a warrant before allowing the search to take place./ppThere were signs last night that the Speaker's statement had failed to stabilise his position as the government refused to offer him support and the Tories said he was "severely damaged"./ppAsked repeatedly on BBC2's Newsnight whether she had confidence in the Speaker, the Commons leader Harriet Harman said: "Well I'm not saying I've got full confidence in anything or anybody."/ppHarman's intervention capped a dramatic day at Westminster. There were gasps when the Speaker said the police may have breached the law when they searched the parliamentary office of Green after simply persuading Jill Pay, the serjeant at arms, to sign a "consent form". Green, who is suspected by police of encouraging a junior Home Office official to leak a series of embarrassing documents, was arrested last Thursday and detained for nine hours./ppTo cries of protest, Martin told MPs: "I was not told that the police did not have a warrant. I have been told that the police did not explain, as they are required to do, that the serjeant was not obliged to consent or that a warrant could have been insisted on."/ppSir Ken Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, said last night the police had failed to follow proper procedures. "They should convey to the individual that consent can be withheld. It doesn't appear to be the case that they did that," he said./ppThe statement by the Speaker set the scene for noisy parliamentary exchanges and prompted demands for police to be summoned to the Commons to explain their actions. The Speaker responded to these concerns with three commitments: that the police will never be allowed to search the Commons again without a warrant and his personal approval; that a Commons debate would be held on Monday; and that he would appoint a seven-strong committee, composed of senior MPs, to review the police action./ppHarman said she may push for even tougher restrictions. She told Radio 4 that MPs might be put "on the same footing as judges, which is not just a magistrate's warrant but perhaps a warrant granted only by a high court judge"./ppHer comments came after the Tories attempted to turn the pressure on to Gordon Brown, and Green used the occasion to defend his actions. "An MP endangering national security would be a disgrace," he said. "An MP exposing embarrassing facts about Home Office policy which ministers are hiding is doing a job in the public interest."/ppDavid Cameron, the Tory leader, offered support. "Parliament is here to call the government to account, to question, to challenge and to publish information that is in the public interest," he said./ppBoris Johnson, the London mayor, said he had a "hunch" Green would not be charged. Speaking as chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority, he admitted speaking to Green after his arrest and said he had yet to be convinced police did not act "disproportionately", adding that he knew the arrest would cause "huge political convulsions"./ppJacqui Smith, the home secretary, who has faced Tory accusations that she is presiding over a police state, will attempt to wrest control of the agenda today when she makes a statement to MPs on the incident./ppShe will outline a two-pronged approach: an acknowledgment that serious questions were raised by the search, but also attack on the Tories for encouraging an official to leak documents./ppThis approach was outlined by Lord Mandelson, the business secretary, who said the anger of many Tory MPs was a "smokescreen" to hide their party's role in colluding in law-breaking. Mandelson told the Today programme: "The separate and equally important issue is the apparent relationship between the opposition and a Home Office official who, in an attempt to pursue his political ambitions in the Conservative party, allegedly systematically passed sensitive and classified Home Office papers to the Conservative party."/ppConservative frontbenchers conceded last night that Cameron was "skating on thin ice" in this area after former home secretary John Reid mocked him for endorsing the leaks. "He is announcing in advance that [as prime minister] he will be perfectly happy that any civil servant on their own judgment can release any information and he will support that in terms of publishing that," Reid said./ppThe prime minister made clear Smith would stand by her insistence that it would be wrong to question a police operation. He said: "You cannot pick and choose whether you support the operational independence of the police."/ppMPs believe the Speaker has bought himself some time but he has been damaged by his failure to ask more searching questions and his attempt to blame Pay./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/michaelmartin"Michael Martin/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/damian-green"Damian Green/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/conservatives"Conservatives/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/police"Police/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/-cRrflvZkNrLvEkyO2vlKJlHUDg/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/-cRrflvZkNrLvEkyO2vlKJlHUDg/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

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allegedly,sevens,ambitions,angers,judgment

Brown acts to stop wave of repossessions

Guardian Unlimited

- 1 days and 4 hours ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/99182?ns=guardianpageName=Politics%3A+Brown+acts+to+stop+wave+of+repossessionsch=Politicsc3=The+Guardianc4=Queen%27s+speech%2CGordon+Brown%2CMortgages+%28Money%29%2CFirst-time+buyers%2CHouse+prices+%28Money%29%2CConsumer+affairs+%28Money%29%2CState+benefits%2CEconomic+policy%2CCredit+crunch+%28Business%29%2CBorrowing+and+debt%2CWelfare+%28Politics%29%2CPolitics%2CMoney%2CBusiness%2CHousing+market+%28Business%29%2CUK+newsc5=Personal+Finance%2CCredit+Crunch%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CBusiness+Markets%2CSocial+Care+Society%2CProperty+Mortgages+and+Interest+Ratesc6=Patrick+Wintourc7=2008_12_04c8=1128414c9=articlec10=GUc11=Politicsc12=Queen%27s+speechc13=c14=h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FQueen%27s+speech" width="1" height="1" //divpHomeowners struggling to pay their mortgages were given a reprieve by Gordon Brown yesterday when he unveiled a plan to let people affected by the economic downturn take a two-year mortgage interest payment holiday./ppThe intervention was aimed at removing the prospect of an increase in home repossessions before a general election and to give people breathing space if they lose their jobs or take a big cut in their income. It is also designed to show that Labour would help middle Britain through the recession./ppBrown's surprise move came amid reports that without the government's intervention, repossessions were set to increase to 75,000 next year, hitting levels last seen in 1991, the worst year of the previous recession./ppEight banks and building societies, covering 70% of the mortgage market, have agreed to allow families struggling with mortgage payments the right to defer all, or part, of their interest payments for two years. The government will underwrite the scheme./ppBrown's surprise was sprung during the debate on a relatively sparse Queen's speech and followed secret Treasury talks with the building societies and banks. Many details, including the qualification rules, have yet to be finalised but officials denied the institutions had been bounced into a premature agreement to provide Brown with some gloss on a grey Queen's speech, which was almost overshadowed yesterday by the war of words between police and parliament over the raids on Conservative MP Damian Green's office./ppThe prime minister said the scheme would cover any household which suffered a redundancy or "significant loss of income". This would, for the first time, extend help to households where one family member loses their job and the other remains in work./ppThe Treasury plans for the scheme to apply to mortgages up to £400,000, and would probably kick in where the applicants have savings of less than £16,000./ppThe government has estimated that the cost of guaranteeing the delayed mortgage payments would add a £1bn contingent liability to government borrowing, but only cost £100m directly in eventual defaults. Building societies and banks would act as gatekeepers of the scheme, deciding whether the request to defer mortgage payments was justified. No definition of "a significant loss of income" was provided yesterday, but government officials said it might cover someone forced to take a less well-paid job or less in overtime./ppTreasury officials said the numbers liable for help would not be so large as to damage the mortgage insurance industry. The help was designed to lift the fear of repossession for those facing job insecurity. Those in safe jobs were going to enjoy falling mortgages, officials said./ppThe move comes as the Bank of England is expected to cut its base rate today. The markets expect a cut of one to two percentage points from the current rate of 3%. A cut of 1.5 points would take the rate lower than it has been since the Bank was formed in 1694./ppBrown told MPs: "Hardworking households that experience a redundancy or severe loss of income as a result of the downturn will be able to defer a proportion of their interest payments for up to two years as they get their family finances back on track."/ppThe Council of Mortgage Lenders said: "It is not a charter for 'won't pay' borrowers to avoid their responsibilities, but it will provide welcome reassurance to the vast majority of borrowers that the government and lenders are doing all they can ... to help those customers who 'can't pay' due to a change in circumstances."/ppBrown said the measure was in addition to protection for the unemployed, who can claim help to meet interest payments after 13 weeks./ppTreasury officials said banks and building societies would not suffer a serious loss of income as a result of the deferment. Brown also confirmed that the code on how banks treat business would be put on a statutory basis. Banks who fell foul of the code could face a range of sanctions, including fines./ppA total of 14 bills were revealed in the Queen's speech yesterday, including two carried over from the previous parliament. Overall, it represented the shortest legislative programme since the government came to power./ppThe programme takes in a new constitution for the NHS, confirmation of a right to seek flexible working for parents, and wider sanctions on the unemployed to make themselves "job ready". There was also a clamp down on "all you can drink" offers in pubs as well as lapdancing and prostitution in what one government official described as "action on the whole night out". Health department officials denied ministers had dropped plans to ban cigarette machines./ppBut internal disputes led to a delay in the constitutional reform bill, seen in 2007 as Brown's flagship legislation./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/queens-speech"Queen's speech/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/gordon-brown"Gordon Brown/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/mortgages"Mortgages/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/firsttimebuyers"First-time buyers/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/houseprices"House prices/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/consumeraffairs"Consumer affairs/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/statebenefits"State benefits/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/economy"Economic policy/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/creditcrunch"Credit crunch/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/debt"Borrowing debt/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/welfare"Welfare/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/housingmarket"Housing market/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/bMuhgms9lowiSc8bfIakg8zQ8y4/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/bMuhgms9lowiSc8bfIakg8zQ8y4/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

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house prices,economy,first time buyers,welfare,flagship

Serjeant at Arms Jill Pay: Parliament’s woman in tights

EU Amendment Against 'Three-Strikes' Dropped

Damian Green row: I did not authorise police search, says Speaker

Guardian Unlimited

- 1 days and 14 hours ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/98596?ns=guardianpageName=Politics%3A+Damian+Green+row%3A+I+did+not+authorise+police+search%2C+says+Speakerch=Politicsc3=guardian.co.ukc4=Michael+Martin%2CDamian+Green%2CConservatives%2CPolice+%28politics%29%2CHouse+of+Commons%2CPolitics%2CUK+newsc5=Policy+Society%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CUnclassifed+Contributorsc6=Deborah+Summersc7=2008_12_03c8=1128134c9=articlec10=GUc11=Politicsc12=Michael+Martinc13=c14=h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FMichael+Martin" width="1" height="1" //divpThe Commons Speaker, Michael Martin, today insisted he did not authorise a police search of Damian Green's Commons office, nor was he told that they did not have a warrant./ppMartin made today's statement to explain why the Metropolitan police were allowed to search the shadow immigration minister's parliamentary office following a string of high-profile leaks/pp"I was not told that the police did not have a warrant," Martin told MPs. I regret that a consent form was then signed by the serjeant at arms without consulting the clerk."/ppHe added: "I was not asked whether consent should be given."/ppMartin said the events surrounding Green's arrest were of "grave concern" to all MPs and announced that he would set up a committee of seven senior MPs, nominated by him, to investigate the case and make recommendations./ppThe police raid on Green's offices last Thursday prompted outrage among MPs on all sides, who considered it a breach of parliamentary privilege./ppHowever, Martin reminded MPs that chapter seven of Erskine May â€“ an authoritative text on the working of parliament â€“ states that parliamentary privilege has never "prevented the operation of the criminal law"./ppThe Speaker said police contacted the serjeant at arms, Jill Pay, to request access to search Green's office./pp"I have been told that police did not explain, as they are required to do, that the serjeant was not obliged to consent or that a warrant could have been insisted upon."/ppMartin said he "regretted" that the serjeant then signed a consent form without consulting the clerk of the house./ppThe Speaker said he wanted to make "very clear" that he was not asked the question of whether consent should be given or whether a warrant should be insisted upon./ppIn points of order that followed the statement, Green thanked MPs for their support but said he wanted to make it clear that MPs were not above the law./ppHowever, he added "releasing information that is merely embarrassing to the government is not against the law"./ppMichael Howard, former Tory party leader, said Green's arrest and the search of his offices had been "a deplorable affair"./ppDavid Winnick, Labour MP for Walsall North, said Martin's statement showed the raid was "totally without justification" and he demanded the officers involved to be called to the bar of the house to explain their conduct./pp"We need an explanation and we need it promptly," he said./ppJacqui Smith, the home secretary, is expected to make a statement to the Commons tomorrow regarding Green's arrest./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/michaelmartin"Michael Martin/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/damian-green"Damian Green/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/conservatives"Conservatives/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/police"Police/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/houseofcommons"House of Commons/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/j-uqI4GnGGdQQmh0yDpkkLCj6BQ/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/j-uqI4GnGGdQQmh0yDpkkLCj6BQ/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

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sevens,high profile,criminals,immigration,privileges

Queen's Speech shows Gordon Brown focus on economy

A behind-the-scenes look at preparations for the Queen's Speech

Report on Damian Green arrest sent to CPS

Guardian Unlimited

- 1 days and 17 hours ago

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/32642?ns=guardianpageName=Politics%3A+Report+on+Damian+Green+arrest+sent+to+CPSch=Politicsc3=guardian.co.ukc4=Damian+Green%2CConservatives%2CHouse+of+Commons%2CPolice+%28politics%29%2CLondon+politics%2CLondon+%28News%29%2CPolitics%2CWhitehall%2CUK+newsc5=Policy+Society%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CLocal+Government+Society%2CUnclassifed+Contributorsc6=Andrew+Sparrow%2CHelene+Mulhollandc7=2008_12_03c8=1128029c9=articlec10=GUc11=Politicsc12=Damian+Greenc13=c14=h2=GU%2FPolitics%2FDamian+Green" width="1" height="1" //divpA report on the Damian Green affair has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service "for consultation", the acting commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Sir Paul Stephenson, said today./ppIn an appearance at the London assembly, Stephenson also insisted that the police had permission to search Green's office in the House of Commons, that he had not been under political pressure to order the investigation, and that the police had not sought to bug Green's office./ppStephenson, who was flanked by Boris Johnson, the Conservative mayor and chair of the Metropolitan police authority, did not refer to Green by name as he briefed the assembly and he said that he was reluctant to give details of an ongoing investigation. But he said, in view of the public interest in the affair, he wanted to set some facts straight./ppHe said that the Metropolitan police were called in after concerns were raised about a series of leaks from the Home Office. He said that the decision to arrest Green was only taken after the arrest and questioning of the civil servant allegedly involved, Christopher Galley./ppStephenson said that three premises associated with Green were searched with the authority of a warrant. And Green's office in the Commons was searched "after authority for a consensual search was obtained from the serjeant at arms", Stephenson said./ppHe went on: "Officers have an obligation to locate and secure evidence to avoid any circumstances where potential evidence could be lost," he said./ppStephenson said Green had been released on bail until February./pp"An initial report on evidence has been given to the CPS for consultation on the next steps of this inquiry," he said./ppStephenson told the assembly that he wanted to correct some of the claims made about the inquiry in the press./ppTories have revealed that Green had his offices searched for bugs after they were raided by the police because he was concerned that electronic listening devices could have been planted. Stephenson said Green's fears were untrue./ppStephenson also said that the idea that the police tried to use Galley to "entrap" Green in telephone calls after Galley's arrest and release was untrue. He pointed out that Galley had denied this himself earlier this week./ppAnd Stephenson insisted that Green had not been arrested using anti-terrorism powers, in connection with terrorist offences. He was arrested by counter-terrorism officers because special branch, which used to deal with cases like this, has merged with the counter-terrorism command./ppStephenson went on: "The decisions taken by officers will be judged through the criminal justice system and any other mechanism that the appropriate authorities deem necessary."/ppHe said: "Clearly this was going to be a sensitive investigation and it is right we should be held to account at the appropriate time ... at issue in this investigation, and the work of the service as a whole, is our ability to maintain operational independence. The police must be able to act without fear or favour in any investigation, whomsoever may be involved, where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they may have committed criminal offences." /ppAnd he stressed that ministers had not been involved. "I would strongly refute that I or any senior officer under my command have or would allow any improper influence on operational actions for political purposes," he said./ppStephenson outlined the investigation conducted since the arrest of a junior civil servant on November 19 by officers from counter-terrorism command. /ppHe said that officers from this branch of the force were involved because they include former special branch officers whose responsibilities include official leaks. /ppStephenson said: "It is our duty to follow the evidence wherever that may take us. It was as a result of the initial investigation and arrest that the decision was made by officers under the command of Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick to arrest an MP and to search three addresses connected with him under authority of warrants." br / br /Johnson was grilled over his decision to make public a private meeting with Stephenson after the arrest of Green was revealed./ppLen Duvall ,the Labour assembly member who was ousted as MPA chair by Johnson in October, asked the mayor why he had leaked the details of his conversation with Stephenson to the press./ppJohnson insisted he had not sought to bring to bear political influence on police operations involving a Tory colleague./ppHe said it was "entirely right" for him in his capacity as chair of the MPA and as a "layman" to raise with Stephenson the likely political consequences of the arrest of an MP in a leak inquiry./ppJohnson said he had only sought to "warn and counsel" Stephenson./pp"Nothing I said turned the course of that inquiry," said Johnson. /ppHe added: "Perhaps I should be arrested for leaking the details of my own conversations."/ppJohnson told the assembly that the police should be left to get on with the inquiry. "It has just got to run its course and after that time it may be that within the MPA we should look at what went on and whether anything went wrong."/ppHe resisted suggestions that the MPA should "countermand" police operations./ppDetails of Johnson's row with Stephenson were released by his office to the press last week./ppAs news of the arrest of Green emerged, Johnson told Stephenson he found it "hard to believe" that anti-terrorism police had been used to "target an elected representative of parliament for no greater crime than allegedly receiving leaked documents./ppThe Tory mayor told the new acting commissioner that he would need to see convincing evidence that this action was necessary and proportionate. He suggested that this was not the common-sense policing that people wanted when London faces a real terror threat./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/damian-green"Damian Green/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/conservatives"Conservatives/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/houseofcommons"House of Commons/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/police"Police/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/london"London politics/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/london"London/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/whitehall"Whitehall/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/bZQTWvANhZSe09sfvF1jhr7UuXE/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/bZQTWvANhZSe09sfvF1jhr7UuXE/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

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