 | 'I think it's time to move on. I'll be an MP for the next two years but I am not seeking re-selection to stand again.' Mohammed Sarwar, Labour MP for Glasgow Central, 21 st June 2007. |  |
| 'I think it's time to move on. I'll be an MP for the next two years but I am not seeking re-selection to stand again.' Mohammed Sarwar, Labour MP for Glasgow Central, 21 st June 2007. | |
Eleven of Scotland's 59 MPs (Nine Labour, one Liberal Democrat and one Scottish National Party) retired at the end of the 2005 - 2010 Parliament. They were:
| MP | John Barrett |  |
|---|---|---|
| Party | Liberal Democrat | |
| Constituency | Edinburgh West 1997 - 2010 | |
| Positions | ||
| Career in other parliaments and councils | Edinburgh City Cllr | |
| MP | Rt Hon Des Browne MP |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Kilmarnock & Loudoun 1997 - 2010 | |
| Positions | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 2001- 2003 Minister of State for Work & Pensions 2003 - 2005 Chief Secretary for the Treasury 2005 - 2006 Secretary of State for Defence 2006 - 2008 Secretary of State for Scotland 2007 - 2008 | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | ||
| MP | Nigel Griffiths MP |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Edinburgh South 1987 - 2010 | |
| Positions | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Trade & Industry 1997 - 1998 Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Trade & Industry 2001 - 2005 Deputy Leader of the House Commons 2005 - 2007 | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | ||
| MP | Rt Hon Adam Ingram MP |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | East Kilbride 1987 - 2010 | |
| Positions | Minister of State for Northern Ireland 1997 - 2001 Minister of State for Defence 2001 - 2007 | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | ||
| MP | Rt Hon Thomas McAvoy |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Glasgow Rutherglen 1987 - 2005 Rutherglen & Hamilton West 2005 - 2010 | |
| Positions | Comptroller of HM Household (Whip) 1997 - 2008 Treasurer of HM Household (Deputy Chief Whip) 2008 - 2010 | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | ||
| MP | John McFall |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Dumbarton 1987 - 2005 West Dunbartonshire 2005 - 2010 | |
| Positions | Lord Commissioner (Whip) 1997 - 1998 Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1998 - 2001 | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | ||
| MP | Rosemary McKenna CBE |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Cumbernauld & Kilsyth 1997 - 2010 | |
| Positions | Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Foreign Office 1999 - 2001 | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District Councillor 1984 - 1996 Leader of Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District Council 1988 - 1992 Provost of Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District Council 1994 - 1996 President of COSLA 1994 - 1996 | |
| MP | Rt Hon Dr John Reid |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Motherwell North 1983 -1997 Hamilton North & Bellshill 1997 - 2005 Aidrie & Shotts 2005 - 2010 | |
| Positions | Minister of State for Defence 1997 -1998 Minister of State for the Environment 1998 - 1999 Secretary of State for Scotland 1999 - 2001 Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 2001 - 2002 Minister Without Portfolio (Cabinet Minister) & Labour Chairman 2002 - 2003 Leader of the House of Commons 2003 Secretary of State for Health 2003 - 2005 Secretary of State for Defence 2005 - 2006 Secretary of State for Home Affairs 2006 - 2007 | |
| Career in other parliaments | ||
| MP | Rt Hon Alex Salmond |  |
| Party | Scottish National Party | |
| Constituency | Banff & Buchan 1987 - 2010 | |
| Positions | Scottish National Party National Convenor 1990 - 2000 & 2004 - SNP Group leader at Westminster 2001 - 2007 | |
| Career in other parliaments | MSP for Banff & Buchan 1999 - 2001 MSP for Gordon 2007 - First Minister of Scotland 2007 - | |
| MP | Mohammed Sarwar |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Glasgow Govan 1997 - 2005 Glasgow Central 2005 - 2010 | |
| Positions | ||
| Career in other parliaments | ||
| MP | Rt Hon Dr Gavin Strang |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency |
Edinburgh East 1970 - 1997 Edinburgh East & Musselburgh 1997 - 2005 Edinburgh East 2005 - 2010 | |
| Positions | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Energy March - October 1974 Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at MAAF October 1974 - 1979 Secretary of State for Transport 1997 - 1998 | |
| Career in other parliaments | ||
| MP | Jim Devine |  |
|---|---|---|
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Livingston September 2005 (by) - 2010 | |
| Positions | ||
| Career in other parliaments | ||
| MP | Anne Moffatt |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | East Lothian 2001 - 2010 | |
| Positions | ||
| Career in other parliaments | ||
| MP | Rt Hon Michael Kerr, 13 th Marquis of Lothian, previously Earl of Ancram, known as "Michael Ancrum" |  |
|---|---|---|
| Party | Conservative & Unionist | |
| Constituency | Berwickshire & East Lothian February 1974 - October 1974 Edinburgh South 1979 - 1987 Devises 1992 - | |
| Positions | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Scotland 1983 - 1987 Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 1993 - 1994 Minister of State for Northern Ireland 1994 - 1997 | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | ||
| MP | Rt Hon Robin Cook |  |
|---|---|---|
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Edinburgh Central February 1974 - 1983 Livingston 1983 - 6 th August 2005 (died) | |
| Positions | Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, 1997 - 2001 Leader of the House of Commons, 2001 - 2003 | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | Edinburgh Councillor 1971 - 1974 | |
| MP | John MacDougall |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Central Fife 2001 - 2005 Glenrothes 2005 - 13 th August 2008 (died) | |
| Positions | ||
| Career in other parliaments and councils | Fife Councillor 1982 - 2001 Leader of Fife Council - 1992 - 2001 | |
| MP | David Marshall |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Glasgow Shettleston 1979 - 2005 Glasgow East 2005 - 30 th June 2008 (resigned) | |
| Positions | ||
| Career in other parliaments and councils | Glasgow Corporation - 1974 Glasgow District Council 1974 - 1979 | |
| MP | Rt Hon Michael Martin |  |
| Party | Independent | |
| Constituency | Labour MP for Glasgow Springburn 1979 - 23 rd October 2000 Independent MP for Glasgow Springburn 23 rd October 20002005 Independent MP for North East 2005 - 21 st June 2009 (resigned) | |
| Positions | Speaker of the House of Commons 23 rd October 2000 - 21 st June 2009 | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | Glasgow Corporation 1973 - 1974 Glasgow District Council 1974 - 1979 | |
| MP | Rachel Squire |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Dunfermline West 1992 - 2005 Dunfermline & West Fife 2005 - 5 th January 2006 (died) | |
| Positions | Parliamentary private secretary to Education secretaries Stephen Byers and then Estelle Morris | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | ||
Mohammed Sarwar, the 54-year-old Labour MP for Glasgow Central, has announced he is to stand down from Westminster at the next General Election.
The father-of-four was elected as the MP for the former Govan ward in 1997 and was Britain's first Muslim MP.
Mr Sarwar told BBC Scotland he felt it was time to move on and focus more of his energies on his charity work.
He said it had made him very proud to represent his constituents and said they had shown him great support.
Mr Sarwar, a retail millionaire, also promised to keep working to improve his local community even when he is no longer serving as the area's MP.
He told the Daily Record: "I think it's time to move on. I'll be an MP for the next two years but I am not seeking re-selection to stand again."
Controversy
Mr Sarwar said that Gordon Brown would be an "excellent" Prime Minister.
The MP is planning to concentrate on charity projects in Scotland and his native Pakistan.
His political career has, however, been dogged by controversy since he won a bitter selection battle against Mike Watson, the former MP for Glasgow Central.
Soon after his election, he was suspended from the parliamentary Labour party over allegations of bribing political opponents, and stood trial for fraud.
He was acquitted in March 1999 and restored to the Parliamentary Labour Party.
He has concentrated on constituency issues, and has become one of the leading Commons advocates of the Scottish ship-building industry.
Rosemary McKenna, one of Tony Blair's most loyal supporters at Westminster, intends to step down as the MP for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East at the next General Election, she informed her local party today.
The former teacher, 66, told The Herald that she had decided it was "time to give up" and let a new generation take charge. "I've had a wonderful life in politics but it's time for me to go. I thought that 40 years in politics was long enough. It's time to allow someone else to take up the baton."
Her constituency is one the Scottish Nationalists would dearly love to grab from Labour's clutches but with a majority of 11,562 at the last General Election, it is difficult to see them making any headway.
It is thought that the local Labour Party will choose the person to succeed Ms McKenna as its parliamentary candidate in the next six weeks or so. One name in the frame is that of Greg McClymont, 36, raised locally, who is a Fellow and politics lecturer at Oxford University and was a speech writer for John Reid, the former Home Secretary.
As boundary changes meant a reduction in Scottish MPs at the 2005 General Election, there were suggestions before that poll that Ms McKenna might step down as Cumbernauld and Kilsyth's MP to make way for Mr Reid whose constituency disappeared under the shake-up. It was suggested Ms McKenna was offered a peerage, but declined. In the end, Mr Reid took over Airdrie and Shotts, the former constituency of Helen Liddell, who left Westminster to become Britain's High Commissioner in Australia.
The daughter of a publican and a shopkeeper, Ms McKenna was educated in Glasgow and for 20 years from the 1970s was a primary school teacher. She began her involvement in politics in the late 1960s and for 12 years was on Cumbernauld and Kilsyth District Council, becoming provost and later leader. She went on to become president of Cosla, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
Ms McKenna entered Westminster in Labour's historic landslide of 1997 and was a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Foreign Office for three years. She has sat on several Commons committees, most notably that for Culture, Media and Sport, of which she is still a member.
She said the highlight of her Westminster career was its very beginning. "It has to be May 1997. It was a new dawn. Over the years, I have seen the towns of Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch change. I now stand outside supermarkets and see the prosperity among the people compared to 1997. This community has virtually no serious unemployment whatsoever. In 1997, there were third-generation children in families that never worked. That's been eradicated. That to me is the greatest thing we have done."
Showing loyalty to the former Prime Minister, Ms McKenna said her low point at Westminster was the way "the media hounded Tony Blair out of office". As for his successor, she said Gordon Brown had had "a fantastic start" and would prove to be "a very successful Prime Minister".
Beyond Westminster, Ms McKenna said she had no intention of going to the Lords but would "love to do something with broadcasting", a particular interest, and is looking forward to spending more time with her family, her four children and six grandchildren.
As for saying farewell to the Commons, she added: "I'll miss being at the heart of decision-making but I promised myself I would not be one of those people shuffling about the place in my 70s."
LABOUR'S "attack dog", Dr John Reid, the former Home Secretary, has announced that he will quit Westminster at the next general election.
After 20 years as a Labour MP, Reid informed his Airdrie and Shotts constituency party that he would not be seeking re-election.
The 60-year-old stood down from the Cabinet alongside Tony Blair at the end of June. The MP, who gained a reputation as a formidable and pugnacious political heavyweight, had a decade-long ministerial career, taking in nine different jobs.
The last and most senior of his Government appointments was Home Secretary, which he held for just over a year.
Reid was famously labelled Labour's "attack dog" by Jeremy Paxman during a televised interview in 2005.
The remark sparked a bitter spat, with the Bellshill-born politician later referring to the pundit as a "West London snob" and Paxman claiming that Reid had a chip on his shoulder.
The MP told a meeting of Labour party members in his constituency on Friday night that it was time for him to move on.
In a letter to party members, Reid, a one-time Marxist turned Blairite, said:
"I believe this is now an appropriate time for me to indicate my intention to stand down as an MP at the next general election.
"I remain enormously grateful for your continuing support, confidence and advice, but it is now time to move on."
The Stirling University graduate said he would "continue to support the Labour Government in any way I can".
The exact timing of Reid's departure from the Commons depends on when Prime Minister Gordon Brown decides to call an election.
Brian Brady, chairman of Labour's Airdrie and Shotts constituency party, said members were disappointed, but they understood why he wanted to call it a day. "I would like to thank him for all he has done for the party nationally and locally."
EDINBURGH'S longest-serving MP is to stand down at the next general election.
Gavin Strang, who has represented Edinburgh East since 1970, said if he fought another election he would still be in the Commons when he was 70.
He told local party members of his decision yesterday. He said: "Had there been an election this year, I would have been a candidate. But I have been the MP for Edinburgh East for 37 years and I shall be 65 next year.
"Now we know the next general election will not be held until 2009 or 2010 it means I would still be in the House of Commons when I was 70 so I have decided not to stand again."
Dr Strang served as a minister under three Labour Prime Ministers - Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Tony Blair.
But he was also ready to rebel when he thought it necessary, voting against the invasion of Iraq and the replacement of Trident.
He was first elected to the Commons at the age of 26 in the election which saw Ted Heath become Tory Prime Minister. After Labour won back power in 1974, Dr Strang served as a junior minister first at Energy and then at Agriculture.
He was an elected member of Labour's shadow cabinet for many years while the party was in opposition during the 1980s and 1990s. And when Tony Blair became Prime Minister in 1997, Dr Strang served as Transport Minister for 15 months before being axed in the first reshuffle. At the height of the Aids crisis in Edinburgh in the 1980s, he successfully introduced legislation at Westminster requiring health boards to publish statistics and provide certain care.
Since veteran Labour MP Tam Dalyell retired from his Linlithgow seat in 2005, Dr Strang has been Scotland's longest serving MP. He said he had been thinking for a long time about when to stand down, but felt this was the right moment to make his plan clear.
He said: "It gives the constituency party time to select a new candidate and for that candidate to get him or herself known in the constituency. That's they key reason I decided to announce my decision now.
"It has been a great privilege to represent an Edinburgh constituency in the Commons."
And he said his decision to retire was no reflection on the Government's current troubles.
He said: "All governments have difficult periods, but the Labour party has a great record in government. Unemployment is at a record low, living standards have risen every year, we have spent large amounts of extra money on health and education."
Scotland's longest-serving MP has changed his mind about retiring at the next General Election.
Dr Gavin Strang indicated last year that he was planning to stand down in Edinburgh East but now says he has changed his mind under pressure from Labour Party activists and constituents.
Mr Strang, 64, has represented the seat for 38 years, during which time he served as a minister under Prime Ministers Wilson, Callaghan and Blair. A left-winger who was never in tune with the New Labour project, there would have been times when the party hierarchy would have been happy to see him go, but the SNP took the equivalent seat at the Holyrood election last May and many will see the veteran as best-placed to hold on to it at the next General Election.
VETERAN city MP Gavin Strang, who announced last year he would retire at the next election, has decided not to quit the Commons after all.
The 64-year-old former Cabinet minister, who has represented Edinburgh East for the past 38 years, said he had reflected again on his position and was now "in it for the long haul". He said: "I will be telling Edinburgh East Labour party members at local party meetings over the next month that I will be standing in Edinburgh East at the next general election."
Dr Strang, now Scotland's longest-serving MP, was first elected to the Commons at the age of 26 and served as a minister under three Labour Prime Ministers Ð Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Tony Blair.
He had already been unanimously reselected before he announced in November that he planned to retire.
He said at the time he would have stood again if there had been an election last October, as many expected. But once it became clear there would not be an election for some time, he felt the need to make an early decision on his future and allow plenty time for a new candidate to build up a campaign.
But today Dr Strang said it had been a difficult decision and since then he had reflected again on his position.
He said: "I'm 64 and it was not unreasonable to want to consider how much longer I wanted to be a full-time politician. I'm now there for the long haul.
"I'm now 100 per cent sure that I want to continue to represent Edinburgh East.
"I had a lot of people ask me to reconsider my original decision, people I don't know stopping me in the street as well as Labour party members both in Edinburgh East and outside.
"But in the end the decision can only be made by one person."
No formal moves had begun to select a successor to Dr Strang, but several potential candidates had emerged, including former Lord Provost Lesley Hinds, constituency chairman Mike Robb and ex-students' leader Rami Okasha.
Edinburgh East has traditionally been Labour's safest seat in the Capital and Dr Strang had a majority of 6202 at the last general election in 2005.
But at last year's Holyrood elections, the equivalent seat was seized by the SNP's Kenny MacAskill and the Nationalists have already selected former Labour councillor George Kerevan, now associate editor of The Scotsman, as their candidate for Westminster.
Dr Strang said: "I'm confident we will hold Edinburgh East, but clearly we are in challenging times for the Labour Party at the moment. That makes me all the more up for the campaign."
EDINBURGH East Labour MP Gavin Strang today performed another U-turn on his political future and announced he would not, after all, stand at the next general election.
He said he did not have the "mental stamina" for another full term at Westminster.
Dr Strang, who was first elected to the House of Commons in 1970, announced last November he planned to stand down at the next election, pointing out if he stayed on he could still be an MP at 70.
But in March he changed his mind and said he would seek re-election, declaring he was "in it for the long haul". "I'm now 100 per cent sure that I want to continue to represent Edinburgh East," he said at the time.
But today he announced another change of heart. He said: "I told a meeting of Labour Party members in Portobello last night I do not have the mental stamina to be an MP for another six or seven years. I will not be a candidate at the next general election."
Dr Strang, now Scotland's longest serving MP, served as a minister under three Labour Prime Ministers- Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Tony Blair.
And he said quitting the Commons was a big decision.
He said: "It's a great privilege to be an MP. I thought I could carry on for another parliament, assuming I was re-elected, but now I realise I don't feel up to that.
"I'm 65 next month and I have been an MP for 38 years.
"It's a very personal decision. One has only one life and I would like to spend part of it not travelling up and down to London.
"That's final this time."
Dr Strang had a majority of 6202 in Edinburgh East at the last general election in 2005.
But in last year's Scottish Parliament elections, the equivalent constituency, Edinburgh East & Musselburgh, was snatched by the SNP's Kenny MacAskill after the Labour MSP Susan Deacon decided to stand down.
And the Nationalists are expected to make the seat one of their top targets at the Westminster election, expected in two years' time.
The SNP has already selected George Kerevan, a one-time Labour councillor in Edinburgh and now an associate editor of The Scotsman, as its candidate.
But Dr Strang said he was confident Labour could retain the seat. He said: "If you look at the figures, the SNP were third last time and Labour had more than twice the SNP vote."
A senior Labour MP has been blasted by his former election agent after accepting up to £170,000 in outside work on top of his Westminster
Alan Dick, a former provost of South Lanarkshire, said he was "totally disgusted" with his MP Adam Ingram, pictured.
He added that he wanted to be "disassociated" from his former friend, while remaining loyal to
Ingram recently announced his intention to stand down as the MP for East Kilbride at the next general election.
However, his retirement was made public after a row over his finances.
Ingram, a former Armed Forces Minister, was revealed to be making up to £170,000 from consultancy work and non-executive directorships while also drawing his MP's salary of £63,291.
One of his five outside jobs includes providing consultancy services to Argus Libya UK LLP, a firm that explores commercial opportunities in Colonel Gaddaffi's country.
Libya is considered a lucrative place for British firms following the lifting of the arms embargo.
Ingram also makes up to £55,000 advising Electronic Data Services Ltd (EDS), a Ministry of Defence contractor; around £50,000 from SignPoint Secure Ltd; and up to £25,000 from Argus Scotland Ltd.
It was also revealed last week that Ingram had failed to declare the family firm he set up which accepts his extra-parliamentary takings.
The MP was quoted as saying it was a "misunderstanding" that Adam Ingram Advisory Ltd had not been declared.
The rows over Ingram's outside earnings have angered elements in his local party and prompted a senior colleague to launch an attack on the MP.
Dick, a long-standing Labour member and former party councillor, said of Ingram's five jobs: "I am totally disgusted with Adam Ingram's recent activities, and would like to be disassociated with what he has been doing."
He added: "As a Labour Party member of 45 years, I am so infuriated with him."
Dick, who was awarded an MBE, said his problem was with Ingram, rather than with the Labour Party: "I support the Prime Minister in his efforts in reforming MPs' expenses and outside interests."
He added that he would "enthusiastically" campaign for Labour at the next general election.
The Sunday Herald understands that while a number of activists gave Ingram a standing ovation at the party meeting at which he announced his retirement, other members remained seated.
It is understood several Labour activists in East Kilbride are unhappy with Ingram's financial dealings.
Linda Fabiani, an SNP MSP for Central Scotland, said: "Adam Ingram is leaving East Kilbride with a poisonous political legacy.
"It's clear to all that the party which once espoused public service now stands for self-service."
Ingram did not return calls, and a spokesman for the Scottish Labour Party declined to comment
Former defence secretary Des Browne has announced he is to quit the House of Commons at the next general election.
Mr Browne, who also served as Scottish secretary, said he decided with "some reluctance" it was time to move on.
The Labour MP said he wanted to spend more time working towards multilateral disarmament and conflict resolution.
Mr Browne was elected as MP for Kilmarnock and Loudon in 1997. He resigned from the cabinet amid a reshuffle in October 2008.
On announcing his decision to stand down, Mr Browne said: "With some reluctance, I have decided that it is time for me to move on."
'Privilege and honour'
He added it had been an "enormous privilege and honour" to have been an MP, stating: "No-one can have had a better job than I have had for the last 12 years.
"But those who know me best know that it has always been my plan to seek further challenges outside parliament and the time has come for me to put that plan into action."
He added that since his resignation from the government, he had been able to use his experience in working towards multilateral disarmament and conflict resolution.
He said he would not be able to do justice to the full-time job of being MP for his constituency and simultaneously pursue these goals.
He pledged he would continue to be an "active local MP" until the next election and would "vigorously support" the Labour candidate for the seat.
Former Labour minister Nigel Griffiths has announced he will quit as MP for Edinburgh South at the next election.
Mr Griffiths, who has held the marginal seat for 23 years, said he was leaving the Commons to take up a "once in a lifetime job offer".
The politician was recently hit with allegations concerning his private life and the Westminster expenses scandal.
The announcement brings the number of Scottish Labour MPs stepping down so far to nine.
Meanwhile, former West Lothian Council leader Graeme Morrice has been selected as the Labour candidate in Livingston, after sitting MP Jim Devine was deselected by the party's special endorsement panel following a probe of his expenses claims.
And former civil servant and trade union official Michael McCann has been unveiled as the Labour candidate in East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, after former defence minister Adam Ingram also decided to quit as the sitting MP.
Labour paid tribute to Mr Griffiths as one of Scotland's most experienced parliamentarians.
And the party moved quickly to declare Labour support in Edinburgh South - which is being targeted by the other main parties in the forthcoming election - was "strong and growing".
Mr Griffiths, whose new post as director of an international education institution based in London, the United States and India, starts in June, said he firmly believed Labour would hold the seat.
The former councillor said: "After 30 years of continuously elected service in Edinburgh, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
"It would not be right to delay accepting this position, since I want to give the party time to select a new candidate to fight the forthcoming election.
Trident protest
Mr Griffiths, a long-time friend of Gordon Brown, last year escaped a standards investigation after the News of the World reported he cheated on his wife inside the House of Commons.
In a statement following the newspaper's account of events on Remembrance Day in 2008 he said at the time: "I am, of course, ashamed that my conduct did fall below acceptable standards. I have little recollection of the evening but that does not make it right.
Last summer it was reported Mr Griffiths tried to defend a £3,600 claim for a television, DVD player and digital radio in his London home by saying he had to listen to "Scottish radio" and watch "Scottish TV".
He was said to have told the Commons fees office a flat-screen television was the "sensible option" in a cramped flat, but did not pursue the claim after being told that, while the explanation was understandable, the "level of purchases" remained under question.
Mr Griffiths has served as a minister for construction, competition and enterprise.
He became deputy Leader of the Commons in 2005, but quit two years later so he could vote against the government on Trident.
Tommy McAvoy yesterday became the ninth Scottish Labour MP to announce his exit at the election, prompting claims of a meltdown from the SNP.
The 66-year-old MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West had been in the Commons 23 years.
He was the longest-serving government whip in history, monitoring his colleagues' votes and peccadilloes for 13 years.
At the 2005 election, he had a 16,112 vote majority, making his seat one of Labour's safest in Scotland and guaranteeing a lively fight to find the next Labour candidate.
McAvoy said: 'Now is the time to look to the future. As we go into the campaign there is all to fight for and I know my local party will join in that fight and I know my local party will work to see Gordon Brown elected as Prime Minister.'
Gordon Brown said: 'Tommy is a titan of the House of Commons. He has also tirelessly worked for the people of his home town of Rutherglen and the nearby area. His hard work will be sorely missed in Lanarkshire and Westminster alike.'
Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy added: 'Tommy is not just an MP - he is an institution.
So far, nine of Labour's 39 Scottish MPs have announced they will quit, while Jim Devine has been deselected. The future of East Lothian's Anne Moffat remains in doubt after a rebellion in her local party.
SNP MSP Christina McKelvie said Labour MPs were heading for the exits before defeat at the polls.
'Tommy McAvoy was one of Brown's most loyal lieutenants - but even he is abandoning his leader as Labour limp towards the Election. He adds his name to the list of embattled Labour MPs who would rather take their resettlement packages rather than face an angry electorate.'
Anne Moffat, the deselected Labour MP accused of incompetence, is embroiled in a new row over claims that she had already struck a deal to retire from Westminster on the grounds of ill-health even while she battled to stay on as the party's election candidate in East Lothian.
It has been suggested that the 51-year-old backbencher is in line for a £30,000-a-year pension, which she will be able to draw when she leaves the Commons, plus an ill health grant of £32,383.
She reportedly said that she had kept the deal secret so her opponents in the East Lothian Constituency Labour Party did not know she planned to step down.
Ms Moffat did not return The Herald's calls while a spokesman for the Commons Fees Office stressed: 'We can't comment on individual cases.'
The parliamentary rules state that an MP has to apply for retirement on the grounds of ill health and have their application Ð that they can no longer perform their parliamentary duties - supported by medical evidence.
In 2008, the UK Government agreed proposed changes to the MPs' ill health retirement provisions so that 'lower benefits are payable to those who are considered capable of undertaking other employment and ill health pensions are reviewed periodically to see whether continued payment is still appropriate.'
Last night, Willie Innes, the CLP chairman, said he was shocked to hear the claim about Ms Moffat. 'If it is true, then she has dragged the Labour Party through an unnecessary and long process. Even local members who supported her last week will feel betrayed.'
He added: 'She told everyone she was well enough to carry on but local members took the view that Anne Moffat was not fit to be our Labour candidate. This kind of behaviour vindicates the decision to deselect her.'
Andrew Sharp, the SNP candidate for East Lothian, called on Ms Moffat to be 'totally transparent' about any pension deal, saying: 'It cannot be right that a parliamentarian should seek reselection and re-election when they already have a deal in place for a £30,000-a-year pension on grounds of ill-health. They can't have it both ways.'
Michael Veitch, the Conservative candidate, added: 'This reeks of a Labour cover-up. They are trying to avoid any further embarrassment in the latest chapter of this whole shameful episode.'
It was only on Tuesday that Labour's ruling National Executive Committee rejected Ms MoffatÕs appeal against the CLP's vote last Friday to deselect her by 130 votes to 59. Her critics claimed she was lazy and incompetent.
Following the NEC's decision, the MP, who has represented East Lothian since 2001, launched a bitter attack on a 'shameful' selection process and complained of 'systematic and sustained bullying'.
She added: 'I wish Iain Gray had the strength to unite the party but I doubt it. My sympathy lies with the voters of East Lothian, who now have only two choices: a bitter and divided Labour Party or the Tories.'
Earlier, Mr Innes claimed Ms Moffat had not attended a single constituency meeting for two years and had been attracting a 'bad press'.
For her part, the MP said a brain haemorrhage last year meant she had been unable to fulfil all her parliamentary duties.
In her appeal document, she claimed Labour had 'failed in its duty of care' to support her. The former nurse noted that 'non-attendance at meetings when I was seriously ill hardly makes good grounds for this persecution'.
Meantime, Labour said it would set up an all-women shortlist for East Lothian, where Ms Moffat had a majority of 7,620, and hoped to have a new candidate in place in the next few days.
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