More questions for Nigel Griffiths as judge rules 'sex romp' is in public interest

Published on Monday 30 March 2009 09:57

CITY MP Nigel Griffiths was today facing more questions about his alleged sex romp at the Commons after further details of his encounter with a mystery woman emerged and a judge said the goings-on were a legitimate matter of public interest.

Mr Griffiths tried to get a court injunction to prevent more disclosures in a Sunday newspaper – but his plea was thrown out.

Westminster's sleaze watchdog ruled last week he would not investigate the claims that Mr Griffiths took part in sex acts with the unnamed brunette, saying the MPs' code of conduct did not cover their private lives.

But rejecting Mr Griffiths' application for an injunction, High Court judge Mr Justice King said: "I accept there is a legitimate interest of the public in the way MPs use access to offices that they get as a result of their public office."

Mr Griffiths initially denied the allegations, branding them "absolutely groundless" and "outrageous", but later said he was "deeply sorry" and claimed he could not recollect much about the evening.

However, the paper claimed Mr Griffiths took 27 "explicit" pictures of the woman in his oak-panelled Commons study late at night on Remembrance Day last year and a further 44 pictures at another location soon afterwards, then downloaded them all from his camera to his laptop.

Mr Justice King said: "I accept the fact that the claimant has not only taken pictures but also downloaded them does not sit easily with his public statement that he is ashamed and has little recollection."

The paper claimed the pictures, dated by the camera's digital clock, show the pair cavorting from 11.55pm to 12.33am. And half an hour later, the camera dates them in another location, the woman naked on a rug in what was probably a flat nearby. Mr Griffiths is also said to strip off and they continued taking photos until 2.24am.

A local party source said they were keen to speak to Mr Griffiths.

"There are a lot of questions which remain unanswered. This isn't going to go away. We need more information.

"Nigel has been a hard-working MP for 20 years and he has built his reputation on being a clean individual. All this has come as a bit of a surprise."

Parliamentary standards commissioner John Lyon received several complaints that Mr Griffiths' behaviour breached the MPs' code of conduct which requires that members "never undertake any action which would bring the House of Commons, or its Members generally, into disrepute".

But Mr Lyon said there was "not sufficient evidence of a breach of the code".

He added: "The code states that it "does not seek to regulate what Members do in their purely private and personal lives."

Now one of the complainants, Duncan Morley, has written back to Mr Lyon, challenging the ruling.

Mr Morley wrote: "You seem to be suggesting that however low an MP's behaviour falls, if it is not directly related to his role as an MP, he cannot bring the House into disrepute. Is the fact that he is an MP, and had sex in the Houses of Parliament, not related to his public life, as opposed to his personal and private life?

"I would be very interested to know what would constitute behaviour that would bring the House into disrepute."