Cash for access scandal: How Sir Malcolm Rifkind and Jack Straw are handling the fallout
The 'cash for access' scandal that has hit Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind was the latest in a long line of rather sad and low rent attacks by persuasive undercover journalists against greedy politicians at the end of their careers.
Sir Malcolm Rifkind
While it continues to amaze me that there is any politician around who could still fall for the same old handbag-on-the-desk tricks that did for Stephen Byers, Patricia Hewitt, Geoff Hoon, Patrick Mercer, Tim Yeo and so many others, it also beggars the question of what next for Messrs Straw and Rifkind.
The 2013 sting against Mercer – also perpetrated by The Daily Telegraph – ended with him resigning after being suspended for six months. Since then, like all of them, he seems to have drifted into historical ignominy, after the outrage has passed and their careers are well and truly over.
Over the last 24 hours we’ve watched the fallout unfold in the hyper-speed of modern political scandals. Both have already made the necessary penances: suspending themselves from their parliamentary parties and referring themselves to parliament's standards watchdog. Sir Malcolm has stepped down as chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee and both will leave parliament after the general election.
But while Rifkind flounders, having ill-tempered exchanges with door-stepping reporters in the street and describing the allegations against him as "contemptible", Straw appears to have a greater degree of control.
Straw gave an interview to Radio 4’s Today Programme, in which he showed humanity, saying he was “mortified by the fact that I fell into this trap”. He said he had worked “extremely hard” to uphold the interests of his constituents during the 36 years he had been in parliament and was “absolutely scrupulous” in ensuring he remained inside the rules.
Already he’s showing maturity in his handling. This, combined with the news that he is expected to take a job with furniture firm Senator International, gives the impression that he will fare better than many of the former stingees.
Sir Malcolm, however, only fuelled criticism as he defended his position. In the interviews he gave, he continued to argue that it is “quite unrealistic” to think MPs can live on “simply £60,000” a year. "I want to have a standard of living that my professional background would normally entitle me to have," he whined.
It also helps Straw’s case that he came across marginally better in the sting videos – despite the tacky boasts of “operating under the radar”. There’s something particularly sickening about Rifkind describing himself as "self-employed", claiming "nobody pays me a salary”, despite MPs being paid £67,000 by the taxpayer.
The point where Rifkind tells the undercover reporter that he would be “surprised how much free time I have” will probably leave a bad taste in the public’s mouth almost as long standing as any public-funded duck house or moat.
Francis Ingham is director general of the PRCA