Speaker's aide resigns over email

A senior Commons official claimed that published expenses figures showed Labour MPs with "snouts in trough", it emerged today.

John Stonborough, press secretary to Speaker Michael Martin, oversaw the publication of the expenses totals two weeks ago. He is supposed to be strictly impartial.

But he fired off a private email to the Tories urging them to make political capital from the issue and adding: "Most of the abuse was Labour."

The email was intended for Guy Black, press chief to Tory leader Michael Howard and a personal friend of Mr Stonborough.

However, it was sent by mistake to Teresa Black, a Labour Parliamentary researcher, who reported it back to the Commons

authorities. Mr Stonborough was hauled in front of the Speaker and forced to resign. He told the Standard: "I quite stupidly, I don't know why, sent an email which I should not have sent.

"I intended the email to go to Guy Black, an ex-colleague of mine and fellow PR man. I banged it off to T Black, who turns out to be a Labour researcher. It gets passed to the Speaker, it's shown to me, and I handed in my notice.

"I should not have sent the email. It was silly."

However, Mr Stonborough denied any suggestion that he had leaked confidential information to the Tories. He said: "I can categorically say that I have never provided the Tories with anything."

The email was sent on 26 October, five days after the publication of the first breakdown of MPs' expenses claims.

Its emergence today explains the abrupt departure of Mr Stonborough from his job last week. He said when he announced his resignation that he wanted to spend more time running his own business, a public relations consultancy.

MPs claimed more than £8 million in expenses last year.