John Bercow was forced today to back down over the controversial appointment of an Australian to become Parliament’s most senior official.
His authority as Speaker of the Commons was further damaged as MPs’ mocked the announcement and later grilled him at length over his handling of the affair.
Mr Bercow, facing MPs for the first time since the row detonated, announced a “pause” on the hiring of Carole Mills as clerk to the House.
The recruitment of Ms Mills, currently the head of parliamentary services in the Canberra legislature, had brought to a head anger, mainly among Conservative MPs, at Mr Bercow’s tenure as Speaker.
Critics claim she is not qualified to rule on constitutionally critical matters in the Commons chamber, a key role of the clerk who is also the chief executive of Parliament.
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More than 80 MPs have signed a motion calling for her to be subject to a grilling by MPs before she take up the £200,000 role as parliament’s most senior official.
The Speaker said that he wanted to give MPs the chance to consider the next steps although gave no definitive information on how long the “modest pause” should last or whether Ms Mills would still be a candidate.
The issue will be discussed by the House of Commons Commission, the cross-party body of senior parliamentarians that oversees the running of Parliament at a meeting next Monday, he said.
In the meantime, he said, the duties of the Clerk of the House would be shared between existing officials. He said he hoped the row could be “resolved with goodwill and by consensus.”
However, he was repeatedly heckled by his most persistent and vocal critic. The Conservative MP for Lichfield, Michael Fabricant, shouted “Ha!” when Mr Bercow conceded that MPs had raised ‘concerns’ about the process. At least one other Tory MP was also heard to shout. Statements by the Speaker are customarily heard in respectful silence.
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Mr Bercow claimed that he had wanted to split the role but had been told that it wasn’t possible without legislation and that the priority had been to find someone who could handle the administrative challenges.
“Over the years, Parliament’s affairs have become more complex, its Budget has ordinarily risen and decisions -such as on a potential refurbishment of the House - have become unavoidable.”
Later the Speaker was forced to defend his handling of the affair as MPs from all sides raised points of order. Although he was defended by some including Peter Hain, a former leader of the Commons, who urged him to continue to take on the “fiefdoms” running Parliament, others mocked him.
Crispin Blunt, the former justice minister who served as an army officer, gave Mr Bercow ironic congratulations for emulating Dunkirk and other ‘celebrated actions’ in “evacuating a hopeless position”.
Ms Mills was recommended for the role following an open recruitment process with a selection panel led by the Speaker.
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Downing Street has insisted the new clerk must have the backing of MPs. The Prime Minister is responsible for passing the recommendation to the Queen to be finalised.