Sir George turns to Austin Mitchell
By Tony Grew - 11th November 2010
The leader of the House dealt with jibes about the PM's personal photographer at business questions today.
Shadow leader Hilary Benn said the snapper, who is reportedly paid £35,000 a year, is not with the Cameron entourage accompanying the prime minister to China and the G20 summit.
Instead he has been "left behind with the foreign secretary".
Sir George directed MPs to the blog of the member for Great Grimsby, Labour veteran Austin Mitchell.
Mitchell came in for some criticism earlier this year when he took part in a Channel 4 documentary Tower Block of Commons.
He is a keen photographer himself, as seen by this picture of him at the State Opening of Parliament earlier this year.
"It's not only petty to attack Dave for putting his personal photographer on the payroll. It's daft," he wrote yesterday.
"Every American President has had his personal photographer and we get fascinating photos of politics at the top as an result.
"We should get the same.
"History is incomplete without photos.
"We need not only a PM photographer but an opposition photographer, a Downing Street photographer and a Parliamentary Photographer.
"Not for sales purposes – we're such ugly buggers anyway – but to photograph history as it happens."
Mitchell ends with:
"Geron wiit!"
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