Straw denies 'loss of authority'

Jack Straw has denied the apparent U-turn over Royal Mail and a defeat over part of a bill to "clean up" Parliament shows ministers have lost authority.

The Justice Secretary said the events of recent days, which also include a partial climbdown on ID cards, showed the government was "listening".

He said the Parliamentary Standards Bill, passed by MPs on Wednesday, had "substantial support".

The Tories say recent events show Labour has lost the ability to govern.

'Changed circumstances'

Ministers insist the decision to shelve plans to sell a minority stake in Royal Mail were due to unfavourable market conditions rather than the opposition of many Labour backbenchers.

The rethink on Royal Mail came on the same day ministers lost a vote on a clause of their proposed parliamentary "clean-up" programme which could have allowed MPs' debates to be used in court as evidence.

"What we are doing is obviously listening very carefully and taking account of changed circumstances,"

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Asked on the BBC's World at One programme whether these reverses showed the government was losing authority, Mr Straw said this was not the case.

"What we are doing is obviously listening very carefully but also taking account of changed circumstances," he said.

MPs rejected by 250 votes to 247 a clause in the Parliamentary Standards Bill to allow their proceedings to be used in court against an errant MP, breaking the long standing right to Parliamentary privilege.

Among Labour MPs to rebel over the issue were former Home Secretary John Reid and ex-Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett.

Many MPs raised concerns about the clause, and the cross-party justice committee called for it to be withdrawn, after senior Commons official Malcolm Jack said it could have a "chilling effect" on MPs' freedom of speech.

Different views

Mr Straw has acknowledged the clause was "unpopular" and said he would respect the decision.

"My lawyers came down on one side, the Clerk of the House on the other side," he said of the issue.

"Almost inevitably, I suppose, the House was more likely to listen to the Clerk. But we can find a way through it."

The bill as a whole, the centrepiece of which is a new system of external regulation for MPs expenses, was agreed by MPs and now moves on to the House of Lords.

The government wants the bill to be law by 21 July when Parliament breaks up for its summer recess.

Many MPs argue the legislation is being rushed through Parliament, with insufficient opportunity to debate matters of constitutional significance for the workings and sovereignty of Parliament.

But a Tory amendment calling for it to be automatically reviewed in a year's time was defeated by 59 votes.

Mr Straw acknowledged the legislation was complex and had been "drafted in real time" on the floor of the Commons due to the tight parliamentary timetable.

But he said he had accepted many proposed amendments from all sides of the House and there was consensus behind the main aspects of the bill.

"I think this will work out," he said.

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