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The Right HonourableDenis MacShane
Minister of State for Europe
In office
3 April 2002 – 5 May 2005
Prime MinisterTony Blair
Preceded byPeter Hain
Succeeded byDouglas Alexander
Member of Parliament
for Rotherham
In office
5 May 1994 – 5 November 2012
Preceded byJames Boyce
Succeeded bySarah Champion
Majority10,462 (27.9%)
Personal details
BornDenis Matyjaszek
(1948-05-21) 21 May 1948 (age 76)
Glasgow, Scotland
Political partyLabour (suspended)
Spouse(s)Liliana Klaptocz (1983–1986)
Nathalie Pham (1987–2003)
Domestic partner(s)Carol Barnes (1975–1981)
Joan Smith (2003–2010)
Children4 daughters
1 son
Residence(s)Clapham and Rotherham
Alma materMerton College, Oxford
University of London
WebsiteOfficial website

Denis MacShane (born Denis Matyjaszek; 21 May 1948) is a former British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Rotherham from 1994 until his resignation in 2012. He served in the Labour Government as Minister for Europe from 2002 until 2005, and is currently on the Policy Council of Labour Friends of Israel. On 2 November 2012, he was suspended from the Labour Party after the House of Commons Standards and Privileges Committee found that he had submitted 19 false invoices "plainly intended to deceive" the parliamentary expenses authority. Later that day he announced his intention to resign as MP for Rotherham.

Background

MacShane was born in Glasgow as Denis Matyjaszek, to an Irish mother, Isobel MacShane, and her Polish husband, Jan Matyjaszek, who had fought in the Second World War and remained in exile after it, taking British nationality in 1950. MacShane was educated at the independent St Benedict's School in Ealing and read history at Merton College, Oxford where he wrote for the Cherwell student newspaper.

Early career

He worked for the BBC from 1969 to 1977, including as a newsreader and reporter on Wolverhampton Wanderers for BBC Radio Birmingham. He changed his surname to his mother's maiden name at the request of his employers. He was fired by the BBC after using a fake name to call the radio phone-in programme he worked on at the time. During the call, MacShane accused leading Conservative politician Reginald Maudling of being a crook, with the MP threatening to sue as a result.

MacShane supported the Solidarity trade union in Poland, where he was arrested in 1982 for attending a demonstration and deported. He became an activist for the National Union of Journalists and later its president 1978 to 1979. He was policy director of the International Metal Workers' Federation from 1980 to 1992, and he completed a PhD in international economics at Birkbeck, University of London in 1990.

Political career

MacShane first contested a parliamentary seat at the October 1974 general election, where he failed to win Solihull. In 1984, he was on the short list for Labour Party Communications Director, but Peter Mandelson was appointed instead. For the 1992 general election, he attempted to secure a nomination for the Coventry South East constituency, then Neath, and finally Rotherham, though all the attempts were unsuccessful. He was elected to the House of Commons in the 1994 Rotherham by-election. He was a member of the Deregulation Select Committee 1996–1997, and served as Parliamentary Private Secretary to a succession of ministers in the 1997–2001 Parliament.

After the 2001 general election, he was made a junior minister at the Foreign Office with responsibility for the Balkans and Latin America. He caused some embarrassment to the government in 2002 by describing President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela as a 'ranting, populist demagogue' and compared him to Benito Mussolini during a failed military coup attempt to depose the democratically elected president. Afterwards, he had to make clear that, as minister with responsibility for Latin America, the government deplored the coup attempt.

Minister for Europe

In 2002, he became Minister for Europe in the reshuffle caused by the resignation of Estelle Morris.

After the 2005 general election, he was dropped from the government. MacShane's failure to remain in government is believed by some to have been because he was neither overtly a Blairite nor a Brownite, and thus, in his own words, having "no hand to push up the greasy pole". However, his position was considered to be untenable after comments he made to a meeting of Durham Labour Students in which he described Gordon Brown's five economic tests for joining the European single currency as, "a bit of a giant red herring." When contacted by The Scotsman newspaper about whether or not he made the comments he responded: "Jesus Christ, no. I mean, ‘red herring’ is not one of my favourite metaphors. If you think any Labour MP saying the Prime Minister’s most important policy is a red herring, then they would not survive long in the job." However, he had been recorded on a dictaphone, and the tape was played on both the Today programme and BBC News 24. MacShane himself wrote in Tribune, "I have no idea why I was removed as a minister, and it does not worry me in the slightest."

Later career

MacShane was appointed a member of the Privy Council in 2005. He has continued to write columns for The Guardian since leaving government, as well as appearing on television programmes relating to European affairs both in Britain and in other European countries.

In 2005, he signed on to the Henry Jackson Society principles, advocating a proactive approach to the spread of liberal democracy across the world, including by military intervention. The society also supports "European military modernisation and integration under British leadership". In 2003, he criticised the Muslim community, saying they did not do enough to condemn acts of Islamic terrorism. He was a supporter of the 2003 invasion of Iraq and strongly supported Tony Blair's foreign policy in relation to the Middle East and elsewhere.

He was chair of the inquiry panel of the All-Party Parliamentary Group against Anti-Semitism, which reported in September 2006. Other members included Iain Duncan-Smith and Chris Huhne. In March 2009, he became chairman of a think-tank on anti-Semitism, the European Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism. He was an advisory board member of the now defunct Just Journalism, a pro-Israeli media advocacy group , which presented itself as a neutral voice monitoring reports about Israel in the UK media. Just Journalism was closely associated with the pro-Israeli Henry Jackson Society (HJS), sharing an office with it. When Just Journalism was forced to close in September 2011, citing lack of funds, Robin Shepherd, international affairs director of HJS and a member of Just Journalism's advisory board, said: "This is a great pity and the cause of Israel in Britain will be the poorer for it".

On 8 September 2009, MacShane organised the first of a series of secret meetings between Liam Fox, Adam Werritty, Matthew Gould, Britain's Ambassador to Israel, and in some cases MacShane himself and members of Mossad, with the intention of enlisting British support for an Israeli attack on Iran.

MacShane was employed as an advisor by United Utilities during 2006 and 2007.

MacShane is a Patron of Supporters of Nuclear Energy, and supported the development of a nuclear industry manufacturing centre in Rotherham.

MacShane has been called "one of the few British politicians with a deep knowledge of France."

On 17 December 2008, he initiated a debate about Britain's libel laws in Parliament. Specifically, he described how the United Kingdom has become a destination for libel tourists as well as how various jurisdictions in the United States (including the U.S. states of New York and Illinois and the federal government) were ready to pass measures designed to halt, at the minimum, reciprocal enforcement of civil judgments related to libel with the United Kingdom, and quite possibly, to allow countersuit, and the award of treble damages in the United States against any person bringing a libel action in a non-US court against US publications or websites.

An ardent Europhile, on 7 September 2009 MacShane wrote a piece in the Evening Standard claiming that it was time for Britain to abandon sterling and join the euro, just before the European sovereign-debt crisis started:

For more than a decade we have been told that the euro was a terrible idea, while the good old pound sterling would protect the British economy from the wily ways of the Europeans. Now more and more people are asking why the pound is letting us down – and whether treating it as a shibboleth that cannot be questioned makes sense any more. All the old arguments against the euro have fallen away. There is no European super-state emerging with its adoption. There is no dictation of economic policy from Brussels. But in the end, Britons prefer reality to prejudice. The pound no longer walks tall against the euro. The euro is not going to collapse because of wide variations in the economic profile of different regions using it any more than the US dollar fails because its external value and the interest rates set by the Fed do not suit Michigan and California at one and same time.

Parliamentary expenses and resignation

Newspaper reports and general parliamentary review

During the parliamentary expenses scandal of 2009, MacShane was accused in the Daily Mail of having been dishonest with his expense claims. The newspaper featured a story stating that MacShane had claimed £125,000 over a period of 7 years for his garage, which he used as a constituency office. One fellow Labour MP privately told the journalist that he was ‘very surprised’ at the scale of Mr MacShane’s claims given that he did not have to pay to rent an office.

As part of the review of all MPs expenses, MacShane was ordered to repay £1,507.73 in wrongfully claimed expenses, with his appeals against the ruling being rejected. In addition, MacShane is alleged to have passed twelve invoices from the "European Policy Institute" for "research and translation" expenses to the parliamentary authorities, and claimed for eight laptop computers in three years. A number of newspapers stated that the EPI was "controlled" by MacShane's brother, Edmund Matyjaszek, a claim which MacShane denied: "The EPI was set up 20 years ago by a network of people on the Left working in Europe and the US... Ed is my Brother, but simply administrates it."

MacShane had previously written an article for The Guardian in which he played down the expenses scandal, writing, "There will come a moment when moats and manure, bath plugs and tampons will be seen as a wonderful moment of British fiddling, but more on a Dad's Army scale than the real corruption of politics." In 2008, MacShane supported House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin, calling for Conservative Douglas Carswell to be disciplined for saying that Martin should resign for failing to do enough to prevent the abuse of parliamentary expense claims.

Referral to police

It was reported on 14 October 2010 that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards (on instruction from the Standards and Privileges Committee) had referred an expenses-related complaint about MacShane from the British National Party to the Metropolitan Police. The matter referred was his claiming of expenses totalling £125,000 for his constituency office, the office being his garage. The Labour Party suspended MacShane from the parliamentary party pending the outcome. In June 2011, The Daily Telegraph highlighted further discrepancies in MacShane's expenses which had been uncovered by former independent candidate Peter Thirlwall. As a result he held an emergency meeting with House of Commons officials and agreed to repay a further £3,051.38. The lengthy investigation concluded on 4 July 2012 with an announcement that the Metropolitan Police would take no further action, but it was reported on 21 January 2013 that the police were to re-open the expenses claims investigation involving MacShane. On 11 July 2013 the Crown Prosecution Service announced that MacShane would be charged with False Accounting involving £12,900 under the Theft Act 1968.

Resumed parliamentary investigation

MacShane was re-admitted to the Labour Party in July 2012, but was then suspended again by the Labour Party on 2 November 2012 after a parliamentary committee found that he had submitted 19 false invoices for expenses that were "plainly intended to deceive". Later that day, MacShane announced that he would be resigning from Parliament. He said: "I have decided for the sake of my wonderful constituency of Rotherham and my beloved Labour Party to resign as an MP by applying for the Chiltern Hundreds or as guided by the House authorities. I love the House of Commons and I hope by resigning I can serve by showing that MPs must take responsibility for their mistakes and accept the consequences of being in breach of the House rules".

MacShane was active in support of Israel and was Labour Friends of Israel policy chair. He said in a statement: "Clearly I deeply regret that the way I chose to be reimbursed for costs related to my work in Europe and in combating antisemitism, including being the Prime Minister’s personal envoy, has been judged so harshly." However the Standards and Privileges Committee stated that the Commons had placed strict conditions and limits on funding MPs' travel to Europe, MacShane was clearly aware of these rules, and concluded "Mr MacShane claimed in the way he did to ensure that his use of public funds for his European travel was not challenged" by sending misleading invoices to himself in order to claim the costs of travelling and to entertain European contacts.

Other controversies

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The Five Myths Muslims Must Deny

In November 2001, an article was published under Khalid Mahmood's name supportive of the war in Afghanistan headlined "The Five Myths Muslims Must Deny". A few days later however, it was revealed that The Observer article had not in fact been written by Mahmood, but by MacShane; Mahmood agreed to put his name to the article after Lord Ahmed of Rotherham refused. Mahmood's actions were condemned by Inayat Bunglawala from the Muslim Council of Britain, who said, "MacShane then found Mahmood – universally regarded as being not exactly the brightest spark in parliament – to be a more willing instrument for his scheme."

False trafficking statistics

MacShane has been accused of repeatedly using false statistics in order to inflate the number of female victims of sex trafficking. In January 2007, he stated, "According to Home Office estimates, 25,000 sex slaves currently work in the massage parlours and brothels of Britain." He repeated the figure in a 2008 debate, attributing it to the Daily Mirror newspaper. It was later claimed that no such figure exists as an estimate, but MacShane's speeches used the figure regularly in media coverage of the issue.

McKinnon case

He was criticised in The Guardian for implying that the late diagnosis of Gary McKinnon's Asperger's Syndrome was somehow a sham and for likening his case to that of Ernest Saunders's apparent Alzheimer's disease, even though one of the most notable characteristics of Asperger's Syndrome is that it is very often not diagnosed until late into adulthood, as in Mr McKinnon's case. According to the Daily Mail, "Mr McKinnon's mother accused MacShane of 'gutter' tactics. Janis Sharp said: 'It was an absolutely awful, cheap shot. It is a horrendous suggestion. It also shows his ignorance.'"

Reports of bullying of House of Commons staff

On 25 August 2010, The Guardian reported that MacShane admitted he was the MP involved in an incident with a volunteer with the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority: "On 11 May a volunteer had an encounter with an MP who was described as 'very difficult ... disruptive angry' during an induction session. The official report said: 'At the 10 minute mark the volunteer burst into tears and a staff member attempted to intervene. When the staff member offered to help, the MP dismissed him as 'condescending', at which point another staff member pulled the volunteer (still in tears) out of the session.' The Daily Mail reported MacShane as saying, "A nice young intern was trying to explain it, but I could have learned Chinese quicker". MacShane apologised for his conduct.

Anne Phillips smear

MacShane was publicly criticised by the Association of Political Thought for wrongly accusing London School of Economics professor of political and gender theory Anne Phillips of supporting prostitution and filling the minds of her students with "poisonous drivel". As evidence of her supposed support for the latter, he cited a question from an LSE reading list about the ethical differences between legal waged labour and prostitution. MacShane later admitted that he had taken the question 'out of context'. Labour MP Fiona Mactaggart subsequently called Professor Phillips' views "frankly nauseating" on the basis of the same evidence.

Personal life

From 1975 to 1981 MacShane had a relationship with broadcaster Carol Barnes. Their daughter Clare Barnes died in March 2004 after her parachute failed to open on her 200th skydiving jump in Australia. MacShane married Polish-born Liliana Kłaptoć in 1983, with the relationship lasting only a few years. In 1987, he then married Nathalie Pham, an interpreter of French-Vietnamese origin; they have a son and three daughters. They divorced in 2003. His relationship with writer Joan Smith ended in 2010 after seven years. It has been reported that he is currently in a relationship with the economist Vicky Pryce.

MacShane owns houses in Clapham and Rotherham. In his spare time, he enjoys skiing and running.

References

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  64. political blonde » Joan Smith is Political Blonde
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  67. Owen, Glen. "Labour MP Denis MacShane claims expenses for eight laptops... in just three years". Daily Mail. London.
  68. Your Democracy – Denis MacShane

Publications

  • Black and Front: journalists and race reporting
  • Solidarity: Poland's independent trade union
  • François Mitterrand, a political odyssey
  • International labour and the origins of the Cold War
  • Global business: global rights
  • Heath
  • Globalising Hatred: The New Antisemitism

External links

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded byJames Boyce Member of Parliament
for Rotherham
1994–2012 		Succeeded bySarah Champion
Political offices
Preceded byPeter Hain Minister of State for Europe
2002–2005 		Succeeded byDouglas Alexander
Minister for European affairs in the UK Foreign Office
Margaret Thatcher
John Major
Tony Blair
Gordon Brown
David Cameron
Theresa May
Boris Johnson
Liz Truss
Rishi Sunak
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