Speaker lets fly at the 'snobs'

Michael Martin, the controversial Speaker of the House of Commons, hit back at his critics today by labelling them snobs who do not like his Scottish accent.

He broke the traditional silence observed by Speakers through the centuries to deny charges of bias and incompetence, and to complain that he had become a "soft target".

In a bizarre interview with a political website, he described how he had put on " ordinary dress" to scramble into a Commons attic with workmen to inspect a problem with the ducts. He took pride in the fact that he had abandoned the traditional Speaker's wig and changed his breeches for trousers.

The son of a Glasgow sheet metal worker, Mr Martin - known as Gorbals Mick - was elected to his post two years ago with overwhelming support from backbench Labour MPs. Ever since, he has been accused of siding with the Government and failing to uphold the chair's traditional neutrality.

He had to apologise last October after he praised Home Secretary David Blunkett for scrapping food vouchers for asylum seekers. He left MPs on all sides baffled and angry last month when he interrupted Prime Minister's Questions to stop Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith asking Tony Blair about Labour's links to trade unions.

Today Mr Martin, 56, blamed his troubles on a class war. He said: "I don't wish to change my accent and I am proud of where I was born and brought up. I feel sorry for them if the worst they can do is attack me for my accent. All that I would say is that I think that snobbery does exist, but it is only with a minority."

He also said in the interview with ePolitix.com that the Government was increasingly reliant on spin, concluding: "Presentation is important and I have no objections to it, but it must not be allowed to take priority over substance."