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Courtesy of the Telegraph
Allies of Jeremy Corbyn have drawn up “emergency leadership plans” amid fears that the Labour leader could be suspended over a series of alleged undeclared trips he took overseas, The Telegraph understands. Senior party sources have claimed that the proposals have been devised in the event that Mr Corbyn is found to have breached Parliamentary rules following an investigation by the standards watchdog. The plans, which are due to be put before the party’s governing body on Saturday, include a clause that would hand Labour’s national executive committee unprecedented powers to constrain the authority of Tom Watson, who would automatically become "caretaker" leader in Mr Corbyn’s absence.
It follows reports that Mr Corbyn is being investigated by Parliament’s Commissioner for Standards over a series of nine undeclared trips he made as a backbench MP, including his now notorious visit to Tunisia in October 2014. One insider claimed that the recent suspension of the DUP’s Ian Paisley had left Mr Corbyn’s office “s--- scared” that he could face a similar sanction.
In July, MPs voted to suspend Mr Paisley from Parliament for 30 days after this newspaper revealed that he had taken two undeclared holidays in Sri Lanka, paid for by the country’s government.
Under parliamentary rules, MPs are required to declare overseas visits paid for by third parties in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests if they surpass a financial threshold. However, an investigation by The Telegraph has now uncovered evidence that suggests that Mr Corbyn should have declared at least three of the undeclared trips. They include a visit funded by Middle East Monitor (Memo) and the Friends of al-Aqsa to the West Bank and Israel in November 2010, believed to have cost more than £900, above the threshold for declaration. Another trip taken by Mr Corbyn to Lebanon in February 2011 was paid for by the Palestine Return Centre (PRC) and the Council for European Palestinian Relations, two organisations which have been linked to Hamas.
While the Labour leader has emerged relatively unscathed from the bruising summer recess, the furore caused by several of his overseas visits to the Middle East have given rise to more searching questions about precisely who funded them and why they were not declared. Amid reports that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, Kathryn Stone, is now combing through details of his previously undeclared trips, Mr Corbyn’s inner circle are said to be deeply concerned. It is this investigation, senior Labour insiders allege - and the prospect of the suspension which might result - which lies behind the “emergency plan” being drawn up in the event that Mr Corbyn is forced to take a temporary leave of absence.