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Warsi should stand down pending ministerial probe, says Tory MP Cameron says he is 'very happy' with Lady Warsi's explanation of trip to Pakistan
(about 3 hours later)
A Conservative MP has said party co-chairman Lady Warsi should stand down pending an investigation into whether she broke the ministerial code. David Cameron has said he is "very happy" with assurances he has been given by Lady Warsi about her conduct following recent allegations.
Nadine Dorries said she expected Lady Warsi to be cleared but she should temporarily make way during the probe. The Tory co-chairman failed to declare she and a relative had stakes in the same firm before travelling together to Pakistan on a government trip in 2010.
Lady Warsi failed to declare that she and a relative had stakes in the same firm before they travelled together to Pakistan on a government trip in 2010. Lady Warsi has apologised and the prime minister has referred the matter to his adviser on the ministerial code.
She has apologised and David Cameron has asked his adviser to investigate. But the PM said he believed the probe was a matter of tying up "loose ends".
However, one Conservative MP has said Lady Warsi should stand down pending the investigation by Sir Alex Allan, No 10's adviser on ministerial interests, into whether she broke the ministerial code.
The ministerial code requires ministers to ensure no real or perceived conflict between their official responsibilities and their personal interests.The ministerial code requires ministers to ensure no real or perceived conflict between their official responsibilities and their personal interests.
Lady Warsi, who sits in the cabinet as minister without portfolio, said it was "widely known" - both in her private office and the British High Commission in Pakistan - that Abid Hussain was her husband's second cousin.Lady Warsi, who sits in the cabinet as minister without portfolio, said it was "widely known" - both in her private office and the British High Commission in Pakistan - that Abid Hussain was her husband's second cousin.
Spice firmSpice firm
But she said she did not realise the fact they had "a common business interest" as minority shareholders in a small food company, Rupert's Recipes, also had to be declared.But she said she did not realise the fact they had "a common business interest" as minority shareholders in a small food company, Rupert's Recipes, also had to be declared.
In a letter to the prime minister sent on Monday, Lady Warsi said she regretted not informing officials about the connection prior to the 2010 trip and apologised for any embarrassment this may have caused to the government. In a letter to Lady Warsi on Monday, Mr Cameron told her that she should have "pro-actively" informed the Foreign Office and the Cabinet Office that she and Mr Hussain were both shareholders in the company.
In his response, the prime minister told her that she should have "pro-actively" informed the Foreign Office and the Cabinet Office that she and Mr Hussain were both shareholders in the company. But he said it was important that Lady Warsi had declared her interest in the company to the Cabinet Office, that the trip to Pakistan was not trade-related and that Mr Hussain did not gain any business advantage from his involvement in voluntarily assisting the High Commission with the event.
Mr Cameron said he had asked his special adviser on the ministerial code, Sir Alex Allan, to investigate the case as there were "clearly some lessons for future handling". Asked about Lady Warsi's future on Tuesday, Mr Cameron said he was "very happy with the explanation she has given".
However, Mr Cameron noted that Lady Warsi had declared her interest in the company to the Cabinet Office, that the trip to Pakistan was not trade-related and that Mr Hussain did not gain any business advantage from his involvement in voluntarily assisting the High Commission with the event. "She has apologised for the mistake she has made," he told Sky News. "But I think it right for Sir Alex Allan just to see if there are any loose ends that need to be picked up. It's no more than that."
"This seems to me to be important to take into account in responding to this issue," he wrote. Conservative MP Nadine Dorries said that although Lady Warsi was "probably completely innocent", she believed she should step aside while the investigation takes place. "When she is found innocent," she told the Financial Times, "David Cameron should provide his full support and reinstate her".
Ms Dorries said Lady Warsi was "probably completely innocent" but she believed she should step aside while the investigation takes place.
"When she is found innocent," she told the Financial Times, "David Cameron should provide his full support and reinstate her".
'Pretty minor''Pretty minor'
Fellow Conservative MP Louise Mensch told BBC Radio 5Live that the prime minister had little option to refer the matter to his adviser since Lady Warsi had herself admitted she had made a mistake in not declaring the business connection.Fellow Conservative MP Louise Mensch told BBC Radio 5Live that the prime minister had little option to refer the matter to his adviser since Lady Warsi had herself admitted she had made a mistake in not declaring the business connection.
But she added: "As both the prime minister and Lady Warsi said in their letters, the breach is really pretty minor based on the fact that the guy did not go out at taxpayers' expense and did not receive any financial benefit from the trip.But she added: "As both the prime minister and Lady Warsi said in their letters, the breach is really pretty minor based on the fact that the guy did not go out at taxpayers' expense and did not receive any financial benefit from the trip.
"It does seem like an oversight and... I don't think that the special adviser is going to come down particularly hard on Lady Warsi as there was no advantage to her cousin from this trip.""It does seem like an oversight and... I don't think that the special adviser is going to come down particularly hard on Lady Warsi as there was no advantage to her cousin from this trip."
BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said Lady Warsi had her detractors in the party but her supporters were likely to argue that she was new in the job at the time of the trip and the ministerial code was not sufficiently explicit on what should and should not be declared.BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said Lady Warsi had her detractors in the party but her supporters were likely to argue that she was new in the job at the time of the trip and the ministerial code was not sufficiently explicit on what should and should not be declared.
The Conservative peer is already being investigated by a parliamentary standards watchdog over reports that she claimed accommodation allowance while staying with a friend rent-free.The Conservative peer is already being investigated by a parliamentary standards watchdog over reports that she claimed accommodation allowance while staying with a friend rent-free.
Labour have questioned why Mr Cameron has referred Lady Warsi's conduct to his adviser on ministerial interests while he has declined to do the same for Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt over his handling of the BSkyB takeover bid. Labour have questioned why Mr Cameron has referred Lady Warsi's conduct to his adviser on ministerial interests while he has declined to do the same for Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt over his controversial handling of the BSkyB takeover bid.
But Mr Cameron said the cases were "very different", adding that "in the case of Jeremy Hunt, obviously all of that has been gone through by the Leveson Inquiry".