Denis MacShane

After the Jay report, MacShane acknowledged that he should have investigated sexual abuse in Rotherham more thoroughly and explained that, as a 'Guardian-reading liberal leftie', he had been too reluctant to address the cultural and ethnic dimension. This admission was heavily criticised in 2014 and continues to be cited in parliamentary debate about grooming gangs.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

The Russian Foreign Ministry added MacShane to a list of British public figures banned from entering the country under retaliatory sanctions targeting media, NGOs, consultants and experts. MacShane publicly described the ban as an 'honour'.

State of the evidence

Documented

In Prison Diaries, MacShane acknowledged his wrongdoing but also portrayed himself as having been treated disproportionately or made a scapegoat. Literary critics accused the book of tending towards self-justification, while recognising the value of his account of prison conditions.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

After the Jay report, MacShane, who had represented Rotherham for eighteen years, acknowledged that he might not have examined child sexual exploitation by certain groups of Asian men sufficiently, explaining that as a 'liberal leftie' he had been reluctant to emphasise perpetrators' ethnicity.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Attribution

Political responsibility

After examining the parliamentary report and consulting the CPS, Scotland Yard reopened the investigation into MacShane's expenses claims, several months after closing it.

State of the evidence

Confirmed

The first police investigation into MacShane's expenses was discontinued in July 2012. Subsequent accounts explained that investigators had been unable to use certain protected parliamentary correspondence revealing that signatures and invoices had been fabricated.

State of the evidence

Documented

The Committee also considered certain computer purchases excessive, particularly where interns left with computers funded by taxpayers. An invoice for £498.95 had been submitted twice.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

After the parliamentary investigation resumed, MacShane refused towards its conclusion to attend an interview and answer a specific question about his invoices. The Commissioner and Committee found a serious breach of the Code of Conduct.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

During the parliamentary investigation, MacShane repaid the full £12,900 associated with the EPI invoices and apologised to the Commissioner and Committee.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

The Committee recommended suspending MacShane from the House of Commons for twelve months, primarily because of 19 invoices it considered knowingly false and intended to mislead the expenses office.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Following the parliamentary report, MacShane declared his parliamentary career over and vacated his Rotherham seat. Labour also took action described in contemporary accounts as exclusion or suspension.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

In Parliament, MacShane quoted a discussion question from an LSE course on feminist political theory and inferred that Professor Anne Phillips could not distinguish paid work from prostitution, accusing the university of filling students' minds with 'poisonous drivel'. Academics denounced his interpretation and use of parliamentary privilege against a researcher.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

MacShane's voting record shows him almost consistently supporting the invasion of Iraq in 2003. He subsequently defended the reasoning that led many parliamentarians to support intervention, leaving him on the pro-war side of a debate that remained controversial for many years.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Following a complaint about his expenses, allegations concerning MacShane were referred to the Metropolitan Police. The Parliamentary Commissioner's investigation was suspended during the criminal inquiry, and Labour withdrew the whip.

State of the evidence

Documented

An internal report by the newly established Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority described MacShane as extremely difficult, disruptive and angry during an information session; a female volunteer left in tears. MacShane acknowledged being the MP concerned.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Early in the wider MPs' expenses scandal, MacShane publicly played down its significance, predicting it would one day be regarded as small-scale 'British fiddling' rather than genuine corruption. His remarks were widely recalled when he himself was subsequently prosecuted over expenses.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

MacShane chaired a cross-party parliamentary inquiry into antisemitism which warned of increased attacks and criticised, among other things, certain academic boycotts of Israel and extreme comparisons with Nazism. Pro-boycott campaigners responded that allegations of antisemitism could be used to suppress legitimate political criticism of Israel.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

MacShane left his post as Minister for Europe in 2005. Career accounts linked his removal to his communication style and, notably, reported comments describing Gordon Brown's five tests for British adoption of the euro as a 'red herring'.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

At a student meeting, MacShane described the five economic tests governing possible British entry into the euro as a 'giant red herring'. The recording sparked controversy over a possible contradiction with government policy, and Tony Blair had to reaffirm the official position.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

MacShane prepared a speech asking British Muslim leaders to choose between the 'British way' of democratic dialogue and the path of terrorists. Faced with outrage from Muslim organisations, he softened the text before delivering it. Labour activists in Rotherham sought intervention by the NEC, and he later apologised again.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

MacShane publicly called on European Commission President Romano Prodi to choose between his European post and Italian political ambitions. Downing Street and the Foreign Office distanced themselves; a Prodi adviser called MacShane 'ignorant', and a government source indicated that he had received a strong internal reprimand.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

As a Foreign Office minister, MacShane called Hugo Chávez a 'ranting demagogue' and compared him to Mussolini when the Venezuelan president appeared to have been overthrown. Following Chávez's return to power, he welcomed the restoration of constitutional order, prompting criticism of his diplomatic judgement.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

MacShane, then a Foreign Office minister, wrote an article presented in the first person as coming from Muslim MP Khalid Mahmood, defending intervention in Afghanistan. He had previously offered the text to Lord Ahmed, who declined.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Lord Nazir Ahmed alleged that MacShane told him his telephone was under surveillance and that the authorities knew what he was saying. The allegation prompted controversy over possible surveillance of a Muslim peer.

Attribution

Accused

MacShane was arrested and briefly detained in communist Poland in connection with his support for the underground Solidarity trade union. He subsequently recounted carrying funds from Western trade unions intended for Solidarity's clandestine activities.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

While working as a BBC producer, Denis MacShane telephoned a phone-in programme on which he worked under a false name and attacked former Conservative minister Reginald Maudling. The incident led to his dismissal.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated