• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Politics

Lewis slams ‘improper’ bid to impose PM’s choice as head of security committee

He pointed out that the 2013 Justice and Security Act explicitly removed the right of the prime minister to choose the ISC chairman.

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
2020-07-16 10:38
in Politics
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

The new chairman of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee has condemned Downing Street’s attempt to impose its “preferred candidate” to lead the committee.

Backbench MP Julian Lewis said he did not respond to a call to vote for former cabinet minister Chris Grayling as he considered it to be an “improper request”.

Mr Lewis was expelled from the parliamentary Conservative Party on Wednesday after securing the prestigious ISC chairmanship with the support of opposition members.

In a statement, he said that the 2013 Justice and Security Act explicitly removed the right of the prime minister to choose the ISC chairman and gave it to the committee members.

“It was only yesterday afternoon that I received a text asking me to confirm that I would be voting for the Prime Minister’s preferred candidate for the ISC chair,” he said.

“I did not reply as I considered it an improper request. At no earlier stage did I give any undertaking to vote for any particular candidate.”

Oooof — Julian Lewis hits back…. pic.twitter.com/KFVj9wjHpp

— Chris Mason (@ChrisMasonBBC) July 16, 2020

Working with the opposition

A senior Government source said Mr Lewis had had the Conservative whip withdrawn because he had been “working with Labour and other opposition MPs for his own advantage”.

RelatedPosts

‘Trumpian’ Dorries calls on MPs conducting inquiry into Johnson to ‘quit the witch hunt’

Goodbye accountability: Raab considers measures to curb judges’ powers

Farmer’s passionate speech about Brexit ‘could have been made yesterday’

Nigel Farage’s ‘Judeo-Christian’ remarks prompt shocked response

However, Mr Lewis said Downing Street had publicly declared it did not have a favoured candidate for the post, despite widespread reports of a whipping operation to get the Tories on the committee to vote for Mr Grayling.

“In recent days, the official No 10 spokesman explicitly denied that the Government was seeking to ‘parachute’ a preferred candidate in to the chair, stating that it was a matter for the senior parliamentarians on the committee to decide,” he said.

“It is therefore strange to have the whip removed for failing to vote for the Government’s preferred candidate.”

Mr Johnson’s choice of Mr Grayling to head the ISC – which oversees the work of the intelligence agencies MI5, MI6 and GCHQ – drew heavy criticism from across the political spectrum.

Unlike previous chairmen, the former transport secretary had little experience of security matters and was dubbed “failing Grayling” for a series of policy blunders during his time in government.

In contrast, Mr Lewis is a former chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, who has taken a close interest in defence and security issues throughout his time in Parliament.

“Extremely incompetent”

Former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, an ex-ISC chairman, said the Prime Minister had acted in an “extremely incompetent” manner and that those responsible for advising him should be sacked.

He said it is essential that the committee is seen to be independent of government if it is to be able to do its job effectively.

“The Prime Minister is the author of his own misfortune. The Prime Minister has no role in the choice of the chairman of the committee. I think the Prime Minister or his advisers have handled this in an extremely incompetent way,” Sir Malcolm told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme

“If they had succeeded, that destroys the whole purpose of the Intelligence and Security Committee. It is a unique committee. They are the only people who have access to the highest levels of intelligence.

“They need the confidence of the intelligence agencies and of Parliament. If they are thought to be creatures of government they have no authority to do the job that the law requires them to do.

“The Prime Minister either should have known that or should have been advised of that, and whoever is advising him deserves to be stripped of their responsibility at this very moment.”

Related: Sculpture of Black Lives Matter protester removed from Colston plinth

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Zia Lucia collaborates with Laine Brew Co to create a perfect ‘pizza beer’

Morgan asks Brandon Lewis: Why do direct comparisons only apply to vaccinations?

The Other Side of Hope: Film Review

BANNED! Headless Eyes (1971)

London’s climate could be more like Barcelona’s by 2050, study suggests

Man 24, charged with killing dad whose throat was slashed in South East London

Lucky Numbers and Horoscopes for today, 16 February 2022

Protesters at station hold banner reading ‘England Get Out of Scotland’

Beer of the Week: Guinness Open Gate Brewery x Partizan Brewing L’Amara

Shapps’ dept spent thousands in taxpayers’ cash on juggling and it’s too similar to Thick of It scene

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.