What is Parliamentary Privilege?
Parliamentary privilege is the name given to the constitutional protections which Parliament and its members enjoy – the special rights of the two chambers of Parliament collectively and the rights of members individually.
These rights are those which are seen as essential to the functioning of Parliament, notably freedom of speech, which was given statutory force in the Bill of Rights in 1689 which declared that proceedings in parliament shall not to be impeached or questioned in any court.
How does Parliamentary Privilege relate to the expenses?
My own view is that the administration of expenses does not constitute a proceeding in Parliament and is not a matter which parliamentary privilege should properly protect. It could be argued , however that the that the payment of these expenses was essential to the discharge of an M.P.’s duties and hence was covered. The scope of parliamentary privilege is highly uncertain. If these M.P.s are considered immune from prosecution there will almost certainly be subsequent legislation to amend the law – though it would be unlikely to be applied retrospectively.
Has a similar situation ever arisen before?
No situation similar to the expenses prosecution has arisen before but M.P.s have been charged with criminal offences.
How likely is it that the MPs will be protected by the privilege?
If the M.P.s argue successfully that they cannot be prosecuted in the ordinary courts, the House of Commons authorities will have jurisdiction to consider the cases. The range of penalties at Parliament’s disposal (which used to include the power to imprison ) is restricted effectively to reprimand and expulsion. Given that the M.P.s in question will probably have stepped down by the time of any trial such a punishment would be damaging primarily to their reputations .
Are British Parliamentarians immune from prosecution?
There are a number of examples of M.P.s being charged with criminal offences. These cases include Jeremy Thorpe (for attempted murder), and more recently Mohammad Sarwar (for electoral fraud). Both were found not guilty.
Gillian Peele is a fellow and tutor in politics at Lady Margaret Hall.
