A Conservative minister has been caught red-handed stealing a House of Commons speech from Wikipedia. Ironically enough, the MP in question is universities minister John Hayes, whose portfolio encompasses academic standards and, erm, plagiarism.
The following comparison between Hayes’ speech during a private member’s bill and the this Wikipedia article has been provided by ePolitix.com (full version):
Though Hayes has already pointed the finger at a researcher, it would seem an apology is in order. Tory toff Jacob Rees-Mogg said sorry after sections of an article from The Sun were cut and pasted into a constituency leaflet while a Canadian PM Stephen Harper was forced to eat humble pie after copying sections of an address from his Aussie counterpart John Howard (his speechwriter was sacked).
Scrapbook wonders whether the offending researcher also tabled this question for Hayes in 2008:
Students: Plagiarism
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what assessment he has made of the findings of the Academic Misconduct Benchmarking Research Project. [209484]
Hayes should hope he is not held to the same standard as students. The report in question from the Plagiarism Advice Service states:
“We identified 25 different penalties that are available for student plagiarism throughout the HE sector. These range from ‘no further action’ through to ‘expulsion … By far the most commonly cited penalty was expulsion”
What will schoolmaster Bercow think?