Support plea for MPs' staff over 'abuse'

A UNION representing House of Commons staff has written to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority appealing for its support against cases of "abuse and poor treatment" by MPs.

The Unite union complained the watchdog has failed to protect MPs' staff.

Louise Haigh, secretary of the parliamentary staff branch, said: "As a shop steward, I have represented some appalling cases of abuse and poor treatment at the hands of MPs and we really hoped that Ipsa would come in to make this accountable and make the system fairer."

MPs' offices are treated in law as 650 small businesses, with each member responsible for recruiting and employing his or her own staff.

But Unite denounced the arrangement as "archaic" and said it did not reflect the reality that staff are paid by Ipsa using money from the public purse.