I MAY be a lone voice, but I feel Europe Minister Keith Vaz has been badly treated this week. I don't condone some of his tactics - if it is proved, for instance, it is clearly very unacceptable to intimidate witnesses - and, even though cleared by the report, I still don't know whether he has done anything wrong.

But I was amazed by the arrogance, navet and stupidity of Parliament's watchdog committee which appears to have little understanding of the law. Its members criticised Mr Vaz for being represented by a solicitor and for refusing to answer questions. It is the right of anyone in this country, either when they are in a spot of bother or when they feel they need some advice, to call on a solicitor, union representative or friend. MPs are no different.

And, as for refusing to answer questions - this suggests that they were desperate for evidence, that all they had was rumour and innuendo, that they wanted Mr Vaz to play a key role in hanging himself. Their lack of concrete evidence suggests, either they are poor investigators, or there simply wasn't any wrong-doing to uncover. So, they seem to have been left with rumour and innuendo which are not permissible in a court of law and so should play no part in ending an MP's career.

By criticising Mr Vaz, the committee members are seeking to shift the blame for their own failure to investigate, and they have done it so successfully that the public now believes Mr Vaz is evasive.

And, through unproven rumour and innuendo, they may even have ended Mr Vaz's career because it is difficult to see how Tony Blair can retain him in a high-profile job after the election.

RIGHT and wrong are not always easily distinguishable. I was impressed with the way Princess Anne accepted she had broken the speed limit and paid her fine.

In Manchester this week, a solicitor has escaped paying a fine for a similar case. He was caught doing 54mph in a 30mph zone by speed cameras, fined £292 and banned from driving. But after the case, he spotted that the police had sent him a Notice of Intended Prosecution 16 days after he had been caught. The law says the Notice must be sent within 14 days, and so his appeal against his fine and ban has been successful.

He still did 54mph in a 30mph limit, but because the police were too slow, he has got away with it. This is a loophole that needs closing.

I WAS in York Road in Hartlepool the other day when a lady stopped me for a chat. She was working in the nearby Oxfam shop and I ended up in there having a coffee.

I was quite amazed by the quality of the clothes and bric-a-brac people had given, and also by the number of customers.

I'd always assumed that giving to charity meant donating money, but there are other methods. I am sure that if every reader of The Northern Echo gave unused Christmas presents and mistake purchases to a charity shop, it would be the collective equivalent of a large cash donation.

I've already started, and I'm even trying to persuade my wife to do something charitable with the size of her wardrobe.

I HAD never seen anything so poor as Big Brother when it was on first time round, and it is no better now with "celebrities".

I think the girl from Brookside will win because she's the only one who isn't struggling to maintain her public image. But all the celebrities seem to have psychological problems, and their language is quite unrepeatable.

Although I can see nothing in Big Brother, it is taking off all round the world. Poland last week started its first series to a phenomenal reaction from the viewers.

And my wife and teenage daughters love it. So I have to take a vote on who is the most unpopular in the room and eject myself from my own Big Brother house.

Published: Thursday, March 15, 2001