Cash-for-access duo cleared

Two former British foreign ministers who were embroiled in a cash-for-access scandal earlier this year are cleared.

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London - Two former British foreign ministers who were embroiled in a cash-for-access scandal earlier this year were cleared on Thursday of breaching parliament's code of conduct.

Both lawmakers, one from Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives and the other from the opposition Labour Party, stood down at a national election in May after denying any wrongdoing.

Following an investigation by parliament's Commissioner for Standards which found neither had broken the rules, the Committee on Standards said it had recommended no further action be taken.

Conservative Malcolm Rifkind, who headed a committee overseeing the work of Britain's intelligence services, was secretly filmed offering his services for cash to a fake Chinese company, boasting he had “useful” access to foreign ambassadors.

Jack Straw, Labour's foreign minister when Britain went to war in Iraq, was caught in the same media sting, which revived memories of a similar 2010 episode when former ministers were recorded saying they could influence government policy for cash.

In a report that criticised media coverage of the undercover footage of Rifkind and Straw, the standards committee said the pair had been presumed guilty before the facts could be examined and were damaged by the adverse publicity.

“By selection and omission, the coverage distorted the truth and misled the public as to what had actually taken place,” it added.

“This is a legitimate subject for media scrutiny but it places a responsibility on the media to ensure fair and accurate reporting. The debate about what MPs should or should not do is not assisted by the conduct of the reporters in this case.”

REUTERS