MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Police had no warrant to search Tory MP office in Parliament

The opposition does not accept Mr. Martin's statement on the Green incident

Britain's House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin said he “regrets” that police were allowed to search Conservative MP Damian Green's office without a warrant.

A parliamentary aide had allowed a raid - part of a government leaks inquiry - by signing a consent form, he added.

Mr Martin told MPs he had known in advance about the search and Mr Green's arrest, but he had not been told the police did not have a search warrant. Mr Green said Home Office leaks to him had been "in the public interest". Items including computer files were confiscated during raids on all the MP's homes and offices last Thursday. The Speaker has referred this issue to be investigated by a committee of senior MPs. Mr Martin also promised that, in future, a warrant would be required before searches were carried out on Commons property. "Every case must be referred for my personal decision, as it is my responsibility," he added. But one Conservative MP said the Speaker should resign, given that he had "failed in his fundamental duty to protect Parliament". "I have no confidence in the Speaker's willingness or ability to defend Parliament or me as an MP, so that I can defend the interests of my constituents," Richard Bacon said. "He has to go. It is that simple." After the news broke last week that four addresses had been raided, Scotland Yard said it had had warrants for all of them. But, shortly before the Speaker's statement, acting Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson revised the detail, saying just three warrants had been issued, while the Commons search had been "consensual". When asked about this, a Scotland Yard spokesman said there had been "no deliberate attempt to mislead". A separate police source added that if the official who signed the consent from for the raid - Serjeant at Arms Jill Pay - had not known police could be refused permission to enter, it would be "surprising". Mr Green, shadow immigration minister, was arrested and held for nine hours last Thursday as part of a police inquiry into Home Office leaks. Many MPs have expressed outrage, saying that their independence has been compromised. Raising a point of order, Mr Green told the Commons it would be a "bad day for democracy in this country" if MPs could not expose information that ministers preferred to keep hidden. He added: "Those who have the real power in this country - ministers, senior civil servants and the police - are also not beyond the law and beyond scrutiny. "An MP endangering national security would be a disgrace. An MP exposing embarrassing facts about Home Office policy which ministers are hiding is doing a job in the public interest." The MP for Ashford was arrested and held for nine hours - on suspicion of conspiring to commit misconduct in public office and on suspicion of aiding and abetting misconduct in public office - while the searches took place. It has been alleged that, during his police interview, Mr Green was accused of "grooming" his Home Office source, rather than simply receiving leaks. In his statement, the Speaker said the Metropolitan Police had told the Serjeant at Arms last Wednesday that they were contemplating arresting an MP but had not given their identity. Mr Martin said she had told him in the strictest confidence that an MP might be held and charged but no further details had been given. At 7am on Thursday, the police called the Serjeant at Arms again, explained the background to the case and named Mr Green. She then informed the Speaker of this and said a search of the MP's Commons office might take place. Mr Green was arrested that afternoon. But Mr Martin said: "I was not told that the police did not have a warrant [for the Commons search]." He added that the police had not explained, as they should have done, that the Serjeant at Arms was not obliged to consent to the search - or that a warrant should have been insisted upon. "I regret that a consent form was then signed by the Serjeant at Arms without consulting the clerk of the House," Mr Martin said. "I must make it clear to the House that I was not asked the question of whether consent should be given or whether a warrant should have been insisted on," he said. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has said she had no prior knowledge of Mr Green's arrest. She is due to give a full statement on the affair on Thursday.