Labour Leader Ed Miliband has said Denis MacShane was right to step down after wrongly claiming thousands of pounds in Parliamentary expenses.
The Rotherham MP anounced he was resigning from Parliament on Friday after an official report by a Commons Committee found he had claimed the cash by submitting fake receipts.
He has since paid back the money. The Metropolitan Police, which dropped an investigation into the MP earlier this year, says it is considering the report.
Yvette Cooper MP: 'Police should investigate MacShane again'
The Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper says the former MP's case should be re-examined by police following 'very severe condemnation' by Parliament's sleaze watchdog.
"I think it is right that the police should be looking again at this..."
"...they have said they are doing that. They have to make their decision
independently, the Crown Prosecution Service have to make their decisions
independently."
– Yvette Cooper MP, speaking on the Andrew Marr Show
The comments came after the Commons authorities insisted that damning letters from Mr MacShane to the standards commissioner could not be used against him in court.
Former Labour MP for Rotherham Dennis MacShane resigned on Friday after he was found to have falsified invoices to claim thousands of pounds in taxpayer-funded expenses.
Denis MacShane: Letters will not be used to prosecute the former MP over expenses
Letters written by former Rotherham MP Denis MacShane in which he allegedly admits fiddling his expenses cannot be used to prosecute him.
They're protected by parliamentary privilege, so were withheld from police when they launched a probe in to the MP two years ago. Prosecutors are still not legally able to use them.
Dennis MacShane resigned as an MP on Friday after it was found he submitted nineteen false invoices over a four year period.
Rotherham MP Denis MacShane tonight announced he was resigning as an MP after the Westminster sleaze watchdog found he had wrongly claimed thousands of pounds in expenses.
We have been speaking to people in Rotherham who live near to MP Denis MacShane following the announcement that he is to be suspended from the Commons following a report revealing he misused his expenses.
Shipley MP Philip Davies urged the Met to reopen its investigation into Mr MacShane over the Standards and Privileges Committee's "astonishing" findings.
The committee said in its report that the Standards Commissioner's evidence was "not shared with the police" because it was subject to parliamentary privilege.
In a letter to Scotland Yard, Mr Davies said:
"I understand that the evidence collected by the committee during its investigation was subject to parliamentary privilege, and thus could not be used by the CPS.
Now that the report has been published, and parliamentary privilege no longer applies, I would ask you to consider reopening the investigation into Mr MacShane.
– Philip Davies MP
In July, Scotland Yard confirmed that no action would be taken against Mr MacShane, after "careful consideration" of advice from prosecutors.
The deputy leader of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council has spoken of his "shock and sadness" after news that local MP Denis MacShane is to be suspended from the Commons for fiddling his expenses.
Jahangir Akhtar, a senior local Labour Party councillor in Rotherham, says he counted the MP as a friend who would not be feeling in a "good place" right now.
I'm very saddened that this has happened. I've known Denis for a long time, he's a friend.
I think my first reaction is of shock and sadness. Denis has been an excellent constituency MP and it is very sad to hear of the recommendations of the Standards Committee.
As far as we were concerned, once the police investigation was dropped because there was no case to answer, that was the end of the matter.
– Jahangir Akhtar, Deputy Leader of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council,
Mr Akhtar said the local party would not "twist the knife" on Mr MacShane but many members would feel "let down".
He has got to be very sad. He's been in politics for a long, long time and took great pride in the way he has represented the constituency of Rotherham.
I'm sure he's not in a good place at this time.
Clearly he's made mistakes and we have to respect what the Parliamentary standards committee has said.
The party will have a view to his future but we are not going to hang somebody out (to dry) without just cause.
I think it will be a time for reflection for the constituency party.
It does not leave the party in a good light - many people will feel let down.
– Jahangir Akhtar, Deputy Leader of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
The Taxpayers Alliance has criticised Rotherham MP Denis MacShane after a report has revealed he fiddled his expenses.
This report has exposed a systematic and disgraceful abuse of taxpayers’ money by Mr MacShane which brings shame upon him and the office he holds. It suggests that he routinely misled the parliamentary authorities about his expenses, which is a severe breach of Commons rules.
If the House of Commons endorses this report and Mr MacShane is suspended from Parliament, the people of Rotherham will go unrepresented in the Commons for a whole year. This is simply not fair.
– Matthew Sinclair, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance
He added:
A politician cannot claim to be a credible representative of his electors if he is suspended from the Commons for twelve months.
This case underlines the urgent need for a recall mechanism to be introduced. This would enable constituents to decide at the polls if they believe their MP is fit to remain in place or whether they would rather see a by-election to elect a successor.
The Coalition Agreement proposed a right to recall but the Government has failed to propose effective legislation in this area. It should now do so as a matter of urgency.
– Matthew Sinclair, Chief Executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance
