MPs who signed a letter advocating legal controls on the media have been accused of hypocrisy as many of them have been subjects of newspaper exposés.
It was noted by fellow MPs that those who signed a letter included an MP whose wife was exposed as a prostitute, another who lost a High Court battle with a tabloid and several whose expense claims were revealed by The Telegraph.
Caroline Spelman was among the 44 Conservative MPs who signed the letter. Earlier this year she lost a High Court battle to ban press reporting that her son had taken banned substances after picking up a rugby injury, which saw her having to pay the Daily Star Sunday‘s legal costs.
In addition, three years ago The Telegraph disclosed that Spelman had claimed £40,000 in expenses for her “second” home in her constituency, despite her husband saying it was their main home, and that Spelman had misused her parliamentary staffing allowance to pay her nanny.
John Mann, the Labour MP, commented: “One is surprised to see someone like Caroline Spelman, mired in scandal in the past, wanting to block the freedom of the press to investigate these politicians.
“For some of those who signed the letter, this smacks of hypocrisy, given their relationship with the press."