Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Martin, speaker of Britain’s House of Commons, said police were wrong to search an opposition lawmaker’s office, escalating a dispute over the government’s attempts to stop leaks of confidential documents.

“I wasn’t told that the police didn’t have a warrant,” Martin told a packed lower chamber of Parliament in London today. He said no one had asked the police whether they had a warrant. “I wasn’t asked the question of whether consent should be given or whether a warrant should be insisted upon.”

The comments were aimed at passing blame for the raid to one of his subordinates. Police on Nov. 27 arrested Conservative lawmaker Damian Green and searched his office in Parliament for evidence he received documents from a civil servant at the Home Office, which manages crime and immigration policy.

The dispute overshadowed Queen Elizabeth II’s annual speech outlining the government’s legislative agenda and Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s efforts to revive the economy. As the lawmaker responsible for security in Parliament buildings, Martin has faced criticism from lawmakers in all parties worried the search infringed on their independence to challenge the government.

“His ignorance of Parliament has been exposed once again,” said Jonathan Tonge, professor of politics at Liverpool University. “It’s very difficult to imagine some of the more robust speakers of the past allowing the police past the door.”

Martin’s Account

Martin broke into the usual ritual following the queen’s speech to make a rare personal statement setting out why police were allowed into Green’s office.

While no lawmaker directly attacked Martin today, his speech was interrupted several times by angry yells from the Conservatives and opposition Liberal Democrats. The closest to direct criticism of the speaker came from David Winnick, a member of the ruling Labour Party that elected Martin.

“All that you’ve said makes me all the more convinced that what took place was totally without justification,” Winnick said, arguing that the policemen responsible should be summoned to the Commons to explain themselves.

Martin said he would name a panel of senior lawmakers to investigate the affair and that the House of Commons will have the opportunity to debate the matter on Dec. 8. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith will make a statement to the house tomorrow. Police are making their own assessment of their handling of the arrest.

Blame on Pay

The speaker placed the blame for allowing the search on Jill Pay, who as Sergeant at Arms is the official responsible for day-to-day security in Parliament. Pay, the first women in the job, was appointed in January and reports to Martin.

Martin said she had signed a form allowing police in without taking advice from Malcolm Jack, who is Clerk of the House and the principal legal adviser to the Commons.

“I regret that a consent form was signed by the Sergeant at Arms without consulting the Clerk of the House,” Martin said, his hands shaking. “I didn’t personally authorize the search. The police didn’t explain, as they’re required to do, that the Sergeant wasn’t required to consent. They were wrong.”

To jeers from Conservative lawmakers, Martin said that in the future, police wanting to search Parliament would be asked for a warrant first.

The police search of Parliament was unprecedented. Since King Charles I sparked a civil war by taking soldiers to Parliament in 1642, lawmakers have expected to be left unmolested by the law while carrying out their duties. That war ended with Parliament’s forces defeating the king’s, and Charles was beheaded in 1649.

Green’s Leaks

Green, 52, had embarrassed the Home Office -- which oversees police and immigration matters -- by publicizing confidential documents showing that a recession would lead to a rise in crime and that it had cleared 5,000 illegal immigrants to work as private guards and one to work as a Parliament janitor.

Police held Green, the Conservative Party’s immigration spokesman, for nine hours. They searched his offices and homes in London and Kent in Southeast England, confiscating his mobile phone, Blackberry and computers. A police statement said they were investigating whether Green was conspiring to “commit misconduct in a public office” by encouraging leaks.

“A member of Parliament exposing embarrassing facts about the Home Office is doing a job in the public interest,” Green today told the Commons.

He denied the suggestion today by Paul Stephenson, the acting commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, that his were leaks “potentially involving national security.” The prime minister later quoted the policeman’s words to lawmakers as he refused to condemn the raid.

Parliamentary Privilege

The fact that Britain’s constitution is unwritten muddies the questions surrounding Green’s arrest. The only written guarantee U.K. lawmakers enjoy is that they can’t be made to answer for their words in Parliament in any court, effectively protecting them from libel cases.

“Parliamentary privilege has never prevented the operation of the criminal law,” Martin told Parliament today. “The precincts of the house are not and shouldn’t be a haven from the law. There is no special restriction on the police searching the Parliamentary precinct, nor should there ever be.”

Brown’s Cabinet ministers have split on the issue. Smith has backed police and said it would be wrong for her to prevent such an investigation.

Harriet Harman, deputy Labour leader, said she wants to ensure that “big constitutional principles” are protected. Today she said she thought police should have to get a warrant signed by a senior judge before entering a lawmaker’s office.

The debate took place on a day full of ceremonies intended to remind Parliament of its rights over the government. Earlier, a representative of the queen marched through the central lobby of Parliament and summoned the House of Commons to hear the monarch. They slammed the door in his face.

“When we slam the door in the face of the queen’s representative and assert the right to question the government, that is Parliament doing its job,” said Conservative leader David Cameron. “Don’t we have a right to know the security industry is riddled with illegal immigration? Those are things the public have a right to know.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Robert Hutton in London at rhutton1@bloomberg.net: Gonzalo Vina in London at gvina@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: December 3, 2008 13:36 EST