Sir Malcolm Rifkind is coming under
pressure to step down as chairman of the Intelligence and Security
Committee over "cash-for-access" claims.
His predecessor,
ex-Labour MP Kim Howells, said the reputation of the committee - which
meets on Tuesday morning - must not be "dragged down".
Sir Malcolm was secretly filmed apparently offering his services to a private firm for cash.
Sir Malcolm and the other MP in the affair, Jack Straw, deny wrongdoing.
BBC
assistant political editor Norman Smith said there was "no disguising"
the concern the investigations into Sir Malcolm were causing to some
members of the intelligence and security committee.
He said that
while Sir Malcolm's future "may well hinge" on the pre-scheduled
meeting, a formal move to oust him was unlikely, with members expected
to voice their views and leave it to Sir Malcolm to decide his fate.
'Sting operation'
Further claims about Labour's Jack Straw have been made in Tuesday's Daily Telegraph.
The paper said he was set to take job with Lancashire-based furniture
company Senator International, which it said won a £75m government
contract after he privately lobbied a minister on its behalf.
Mr
Straw told the Telegraph he had not been paid by Senator but
acknowledged he had discussed joining its board when he stands down as
an MP.
Senator chairman Colin Mustoe said Mr Straw had not
assisted him in securing government contracts, adding: "As far as I'm
concerned, he just acted well as a local MP, working with one of the
biggest employers in his constituency."
Sir Malcolm and Mr Straw were filmed holding discussions over paid employment by reporters for the Daily Telegraph and Channel 4's Dispatches, who were posing as staff of a fake Chinese firm.
Both MPs have referred themselves to Parliament's standards watchdog and both deny breaching House of Commons rules.
Sir Malcolm, who is MP for Kensington, has said he would not stand
down as security committee chairman, unless his colleagues wanted him
to.
He pointed out that none of the matters raised in the newspaper sting was to do with intelligence or security.
However,
in an interview with the BBC's Newsnight, Mr Howells said the committee
- which oversees the work of Britain's intelligence and security
agencies - cannot afford to be "dragged down" by the row because it is
"too important".
And he warned that its reputation "isn't being
improved when it looks as if the chair of the committee is the victim of
a sting operation".
Asked if Sir Malcolm should resign, Mr
Howells told Newsnight: "It's going to be very difficult for him, but
the decision has got to be made by the committee."
He warned that
"if the intelligence and security services are not properly overseen and
accountable to parliament and the people, then all hell can break
loose."
And he added that he was "a bit bewildered" that Sir
Malcolm suggested he had the time to take on the role being offered by
the undercover reporters because "the amount of reading on that
committee is phenomenal, so much classified material comes across the
desks of the ISC, and you have to read it in the offices of the ISC". Potential loophole
Mr
Straw has suspended himself from the Labour Party and the Tory whip has
been withdrawn from Sir Malcolm, also a former foreign secretary.
Sir Malcolm is reported to have claimed he could arrange "useful access" to every British ambassador in the world.
He was recorded as saying: "I am self-employed - so nobody pays me a salary. I have to earn my income."
He said his usual fee for half a day's work was "somewhere in the region of £5,000 to £8,000".
Media captionSir Malcolm Rifkind: "My conscience is entirely clear"
He
said he had never accepted an offer from the fake firm, saying it was a
"preliminary" discussion "about what they had in mind".
He is
paid £67,000 a year as an MP and he said telling the reporters he was
not paid a salary was a "silly thing to say" although it was a reference
"to my business interests, from none of which I receive a salary".
Blackburn
MP Mr Straw, who has already announced his intention to stand down from
Parliament in May, said he was "mortified" that he had fallen into the
reporters' "trap" but that he had said nothing "improper".
During
his 36 years as an MP he had been "absolutely scrupulous" about
observing the rules, he said, adding that the entire discussion had been
around what he would do after leaving Parliament.
It is claimed he was recorded describing how he operated "under the
radar" and had used his influence to change EU rules on behalf of a firm
which paid him £60,000 a year.
Media captionJack Straw MP: "I have acted with complete probity and integrity throughout my parliamentary career"
On
the subject of payment, Mr Straw is heard saying: "So normally, if I'm
doing a speech or something, it's £5,000 a day, that's what I charge."
After
the story was published, Mr Straw confirmed he had taken on one
consultancy role since his ministerial career ended in 2010, with
commodity suppliers, ED&F Man (Holdings) Ltd, saying it was done in
accordance with the MPs' Code of Conduct.
According to Tuesday's
Daily Telegraph, Mr Straw's relationship with Senator International
highlights a potential loophole in Parliamentary rules which allows MPs
to "lobby" for companies they will later join.
But the paper
reports Mr Straw as saying he helped Senator only because it employed a
large number of people from his constituency and his involvement with
the company was therefore "entirely appropriate".
A spokesman for
Mr Straw is quoted by the Telegraph as saying: "The help which he
provided was not in expectation of any employment or financial advantage
but because Mr Straw was a constituency MP performing his parliamentary
duties."
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