 Mr Sayeed said his suspension was "unjust and wrong" |
An MP has been expelled from the Tory party in the Commons after being twice censured over claims he profited from private tours of Parliament. Jonathan Sayeed has been told to withdraw comments that his two-week suspension in February was "unjust and wrong" or face another suspension.
Now the Mid Bedfordshire MP has had the whip withdrawn and the Tory leader is demanding he apologises to the Commons.
He was also criticised for his use of allowances and Parliament's stationery.
Mr Sayeed has been told to pay back �12,500 which was spent on his Bedfordshire home - the money is allocated for London expenses only.
A further �9,500 in expenses are being investigated by the Standards and Privileges Committee.
And the committee said it was "dismayed" that the MP had used Commons stationery to write to his local Conservative association.
It was further evidence of Mr Sayeed's "continuing disregard" of House of Commons rules, the committee found.
Mr Sayeed was not available for comment.
In the first report, the Standards Committee found no evidence that he had directly received any fees from tours.
But, both Mr Sayeed and his assistant Alexandra Messervy were "at the least negligent in failing to exercise sufficient care to safeguard the reputation of Parliament", the MPs said.
"And at worst have acted carelessly, in a manner which has allowed that reputation to be injured".
Mr Sayeed accepted some criticism of his conduct but said the suspension was "unjust and wrong".
The committee now says he should be suspended until he makes a full apology and accepts its conclusions.
Its report says: "If by Monday April 4 he has not finalised arrangements with Mr Speaker for making a personal statement on these matters on an early date on terms agreed by Mr Speaker, we recommend that the House suspend him from its service until he does."
Mr Sayeed is stepping down at the next election due to ill-health.