Gerry Adams MP resignation row over ‘men in tights’ | Cameron's office apologises

Westminster parliament: 'Men in tights'

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT has confirmed to the Press Association that Gerry Adams has resigned his seat as MP for West Belfast but did not apply for a position under the British Crown as part of the resignation process.

Earlier, political commentators at Westminster said the Sinn Féin leader was on a collision course with authorities because he wouldn't go through a convoluted, archaic process on top of the resignation letter he had already sent to House of Commons Speaker John Bercow.

The Guardian newspaper said:

Under parliamentary rules dating back to 1624, an MP who wants to quit has to apply for one of a number of obscure, paid crown posts: Crown Steward and Bailiff of the three Chiltern Hundreds of Stoke, Desborough and Burnham or Steward of the Manor of Northstead.

A Sinn Féin spokesman in Belfast reportedly told The Guardian:

We couldn't give a toss.

He's not going to apply for these offices. He has sent in a resignation letter like any ordinary person. We want a by-election in West Belfast.

There's no written constitution; they just make it up anyway. It's strange men who parade around in tights.

Republicans are not losing any sleep over this.

Today, British Prime Minister David Cameron claimed in the British parliament that Gerry Adams had gone through the process, telling MPs:

I'm not sure that Gerry Adams will be delighted to be a Baron of the Manor of Northstead. But, nonetheless, I'm pleased that tradition has been maintained.

Gerry Adams refuted this and said:

This is untrue. I simply resigned. I was not consulted nor was I asked to accept such an office. I am an Irish republican. I have had no truck whatsoever with these antiquated and quite bizarre aspects of the British parliamentary system.

I am proud to have represented the people of West Belfast for almost three decades and to have done so without pledging allegiance to the English queen or accepting British parliamentary claims to jurisdiction in my country.

It was a wrench for me to give up the West Belfast seat. I am very grateful to all those citizens who worked and voted for Sinn Féin through good times and bad times in defiance of the British Government and its allies in Ireland. But I gave a commitment that when the election to the Dáil was called I would resign the West Belfast seat to stand for the Louth and East Meath constituency and I have.

Mr Cameron’s announcement that I have become Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead – wherever that is – is a bizarre development. I am sure the burghers of that manor are as bemused as me.

I have spoken to the Prime Minister's Private Secretary today and he has apologised for today’s events.

While I respect the right of British parliamentarians to have their own protocols and systems – no matter how odd these may appear to the rest of the world in general and Irish people in particular – the Prime Minister should not make claims which are untrue and inaccurate. The onus is on the Westminster parties to call a by-election as soon as possible in the West Belfast constituency.

In the meantime, let me assure the people of West Belfast that the Sinn Féin party will continue to provide our first-class constituency service and representation.