John Reid

Dr John Reid became the British Home Secretary in May 2006.^[1] He is a Labour MP for the Airdrie & Shotts constituency.^[2]

Biography

• 1947: Born in Scotland.^[3]
• Coatbridge school.^[4]
• Stirling University: BA History, PhD Economic History.^[5]
• 1979-1983: Research officer for the Labour Party.^[6]
• 1983-1985: Political adviser to Neil Kinnock.^[7]
• 1986-1987: Labour organiser for Scottish Trade Unionists.^[8]
• May 1999-Jan 2001: Secretary of State, Scottish Office.^[9]
• Jan 2001-Oct 2002: Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office.^[10]
• Oct 2002-April 2003: Minister without Portfolio.^[11]
• April 2003-June 2003: Lord Privy Seal.^[12]
• June 2003-May 2005: Secretary of State, Department of Health.^[13]
• May 2005: Appointed Secretary of State for Defence.^[14]
• May 2006: Appointed Home Secretary.^[15]

Keeping it in the family: How Reid used public money to pay his son for campaign work

In January 2000, The Observer revealed that Reid had

"...used public money from his Westminster allowances to help finance Labour's Scottish election campaign. Among those who benefited from the arrangement was his son, Kevin Reid, who was put on the Labour Party election campaign payroll. A number of campaigners were paid by Reid, a key ally of the Prime Minister, and by Glasgow MP John Maxton. They were listed as House of Commons researchers while they were actually working as full-time election workers in the party's Scottish headquarters."^[16]

This was despite the fact that, according to The Observer, "MPs' allowances are governed by strict regulations which state they must be 'wholly, exclusively and necessarily' incurred in connection with a MP's parliamentary activities."^[17]

Guilty, says the independent commissioner. Not guilty, says the Labour-chaired committee

Reid and Maxton were eventually exonerated by the Committee on Standards and Privileges, under controversial circumstances:

"The committee's conclusions were simply put. There was not enough evidence to find [Reid and Maxton] guilty of breaking parliamentary rules on the payment of staff."^[18]

The committee's verdict flatly contradicted the findings of Elizabeth Filkin, the then Commissioner for Standards:

"She had investigated the allegations against Reid and Maxton and come to a very different conclusion. Public money given to the two men had been used to pay for staff who were actually campaigning for the Labour Party, something which is against the strict rules governing the financing of MPs' offices. Reid and Maxton had broken the rules, Filkin wrote in her report to the committee."^[19]

External links

• ^ Profile of John Reid on theyworkforyou.com
• ^ Profile on Number 10 Downing Street website

Articles

1999

• Dean Nelson and Ben Laurance, "How Scotland's lobbygate was exposed", The Observer, September 26, 1999.
• "Reid defends lobby row son", BBC News, September 27, 1999.
• Ben Laurence and Patrick Wintour, "Nine days that blew Holyrood Cabinet apart", The Observer, October 3, 1999.
• "McConnell pledges to aid standards inquiry", BBC News, October 3, 1999.
• "Reid quits PR job", BBC News, 19 November, 1999.

2000

• ^ Dean Nelson, "Reid in poll cash scandal", The Guardian, January 23, 2000.
• ^ Kamal Ahmed, "Friends in high places: A damning report into two senior Labour officials has been shelved - by Labour", The Observer, December 24, 2000.
• Arnold Kemp, "Three cheers for Filkin", The Observer, December 24, 2000.
• Peter Preston, "If Westminster silences its own watchdog, we will all pay the price", The Observer, December 24, 2000.

2006

• "John-Reid, Karadzic, Lobbygate, NHS deficits, Commissioner for Standards, drugs", aangirfan blog, May 7, 2006.
• Tom Bower, "The dark horse" (profile), The Guardian, September 23, 2006.