MPs' discreet new watchdog

Westminster's new sleaze watchdog, Philip Mawer, put up the shutters today to signal he will conduct his role in maximum secrecy.

He appeared determined to avoid the fate of Elizabeth Filkin, ousted from the job after MPs accused her of leaking details of investigations.

The secretive House of Commons Commission, chaired by Speaker Michael Martin, said yesterday that it had chosen Mr Mawer to replace her. Its spokesman, MP Stuart Bell, described him as a man of " independence, strength and discretion". His appointment, on £75,000 a year for a three-day week, will be confirmed by MPs next month.

Mr Mawer, 54, is an aide to the Archbishop of Canterbury and secretary-general of the General Synod. Church of England colleagues describe him as "scrupulously discreet".

A former civil servant, he will take on the sensitive role of investigating complaints about MPs who fail to record all their outside earnings.