Rifking Has Fallen On His Sword.

[sandyRoe]

Could he have honourably done anything else?

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/cash-for-access-rifkind-steps-down-as-mp/ar-BBhUCeL

[Jackdaw33]

If it had been his intention to retire at the next election he would have announced it long ago to give his constituency plenty of time to choose a replacement. As this is probably the safest Tory seat in the country percentage of votes wise (it isn't very big) it will be interesting to see who is chosen to replace him.

[youngmafbog]

Sorry to wreck the lefty love in but tell me something:

Has either man broken the law ? I am actually a little confused on this

[youngmafbog]

Andy, if yo uwere touting for business would you not big yourself up?

Perhaps you would have gone in and said "'I'm up to the hilt with work and rolling in cash" ?

Not sure you would have drummed up much business.

[Gromit]

This from last year speculating on Boris Johnson's retirn to Parliament.

// Top of any list of seats for Boris must be affluent Kensington in west London. Currently held by former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind with a majority of 8,616, it would be the perfect platform for the mayor. Rifkind has not shown any sign of wanting to step aside, but could he be persuaded to give up his Commons seat in exchange for one in the Lords. //

Also, if I wanted to build up my freelance business, I would not announce my retirement from Parliament until the very last minute.

[carolegif]

It was said this morning that both of them will now be denied a peerage. Quite right too!

[Svejk]

I'm not a lefty but I'd happily batter these two fiddlers.
Broken the law? That's part of the problem. We have laws we must obey, they have 'rules'. Rules they set with 'punishments' they set.

[mushroom25]

//Could he have honourably done anything else? //

he could have toughed it out. the resultant enquiry would almost certainly have absolved him of any wrongdoing.

[Svejk]

I thought Cameron was going to put an end to this kind of lobbying. Too busy sorting out the burning question of gay marriage I suppose.

[Jomlett]

Rifkind's statement: "I don't think I did anything wrong," Sir Malcolm Rifkind says. "I made an error of judgement... but on the substance of the issues, no, I don't think the allegations are justified."

"I did not want the work of the committee to be distracted... it's quite obvious that, fairly or unfairly, this has become an issue."

[Jackdaw33]

Although not wanting to whitewash them, there is something vaguely unpleasant about this being the result of a 'sting'. As has been said, neither has done any wrong, they may have been discussing the possibility of doing so but that is entirely different.

[Bazile]

What's suprising about all this is that they fell for the sting .

Given the past history of MP's being set up , one would have thought if they were going to offer their services , they would make damn sure that they weren't being set .

i.e. i would have insisted that they stripped and a thorough examination carried out of their apparel , in order to see if they were carrying any sort of recording devices .
A quick dive for the door would have given them both a clue .

[jno]

youngmafbog, no, no suggestion that laws have been broken. Parliamentary rules may have been - or they may have not: as with the expenses business, the rules are remarkably broad in allowing MPs to help themselves to our money, and take on further work at times when, voters might think, they should be working for them.

Not sure why criticising Straw is the sign of a lefty.

[jno]

Bazile, I guess the problem may be that MPs are approached like this all the time, and most of them aren't stings at all.

[Jomlett]

Tories think MPs should get a pay rise to attract a better "calibre", but don't apply that logic to public sector where pay is frozen.

[wired]

Gromit, it's amazing how many politicians trained in or studied law and most of them now are career politicians. Who makes and passes laws?

[andy-hughes]

youngmafbog - "Andy, if yo uwere touting for business would you not big yourself up?"

My attitude to the antics of Messrs. Straw and Rifkin is very simple - they are elected MP's. That is a full-time job, with a salary and expenses to match. The job is to represent their constituents, the people who voted for them, not to be touting for lucrative contracts to give inside tracks to companies they know absolutely nothing about.

If Sir Malcom has not broken any law - and I do not suggest that he has - then he is free to fight the allegations vigourously, as indeed he said he would only twenty-four hours ago - how things change when you see how the wind is blowing.

So although they may not have acted outside the law, their money-grubbing antics - including Sir Malcolm boasting how much free time he has to go walking and to read books - is beyond the pale, and they have been rightly hung out to dry for it.

I suspect Sir Malcolm is hoping for a seat in the Lords, which neither merits nor deserves - because he has tefloned away from the scandal instead of having the honesty to believe he is right, and stand and clear his name.

He thinks the Telegraph and Channel 4 have behaved appallingly - but then, if he was behaving with the ethics of his profession, he wouldn't be in this position would he?

[anneasquith]

shameful greedy egotists both of them. rifkind's arrogance knows no bounds. a gentleman would say . I'm sorry. and i made a huge error, but no,,,,,,,,,,,, he still refuses to admit he did anything wrong !!!!!

[andy-hughes]

mushroom25 - "//Could he have honourably done anything else? //

he could have toughed it out. the resultant enquiry would almost certainly have absolved him of any wrongdoing."

His actions suggest otherwise.

he has gone from blustering yesterday how he would fight the accusations vigorously, to standing down as an MP, when he was up for another term, and resigning from the Security Committee.

That's suggests that someone has had a pretty strong word in his shell-like about getting out of the way with minimal damage because the election campaign can't be distracted by his egotistical nonsense.

Note the complete absence of support from any of the government - especially Cameron? They normally leap in with strong supportive statements, but no - silence - not one of them has defended him.

But even now, his ego will not allow him to admit that he has behaved improprerly, and outwith the spirit of his role as an elected MP.

He deserves to end his career in ignomy, and I hope others learn the lesson he has singularly failed to accept. When you are wrong, admit it, apologise, and move on. It's not fatal.

[Peter Pedant]

.

I thought Rifkind falling on his sword was ..... an intelligent move.

I thought ( in an unimpressed fashion ) that he was just seeking ( asking for more ! ) that extra bit of gravy on his next House of Lords job.....

[sandyRoe]

These grandees, when you scratch the surface, are just as venal as any of the ordinary MPs who recently enjoyed the hospitality of ER.