MP ‘too legless for legislation’
By politics.co.uk staff
A Conservative MP has apologised after admitting he was too drunk to vote in a key Budget debate.
Mark Reckless, the MP for Rochester and Strood, missed a vote in the small hours of Wednesday morning on the planned rise in VAT from 17.5% to 20%.
He is understood to have been in such an inebriated state he had trouble standing, according to reports. The 02:07 BST vote took place without him.
Mr Reckless said afterwards he was “very embarrassed” by the incident which he pledged was a mistake “I will not be repeating”.
“I don’t know what came over me. It was a long day and I’d had a very early breakfast meeting,” he explained.
“I normally have just one or two and know when to stop. I don’t know what happened. I don’t remember falling over.”
A number of other MPs who may have imbibed excessively have also come to the attention of media reports.
Deputy chief whip John Randall and Tory Sheryll Randall attracted particular attention. Speaker John Bercow is recorded rebuking MPs for their “convivial” conversations in the Commons chamber.
