Former Speaker claims rolling TV news helps burglars

The 24/7 rolling TV news format has come under some criticism over the years, but this is a new one to us…

The former Commons Speaker Michael Martin, now Lord Martin of Springburn, suggested yesterday in the House of Lords that Sky News might have inadvertently aided burglars by reporting from outside his home and telling its audience that he was not there.

Addressing a Lords debate on the Fixed Term Parliaments Bill, Martin explored the pressures facing Speakers in the House of Commons – and spoke of his experiences of being doorstepped by journalists.

“I had a situation when a clown was outside my door – I describe him as a clown, although he called himself a journalist from Sky TV, using big satellite television equipment,” he told the Lords.

“There he was, outside the house while I was in London. He said: ‘We cannot get him; the house is empty’.

“Anyone who is involved in security will tell you not to advertise that you are away from home, but here was somebody broadcasting live television, saying that my house was empty. That is the type of pressure I am talking about.”