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Former Commons Speaker John Bercow to publish his memoirs

Former Commons Speaker John Bercow is to publish his memoirs.

Described as “grippingly candid”, the book will chart his journey from boyhood to Parliament and include his take on his decade in the chair.

Titled Unspeakable, it also promises to reveal Mr Bercow’s views on Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former occupants of Number 10 including Theresa May, David Cameron and Tony Blair.

In a statement, Mr Bercow said: “I made friends and enemies alike, but from start to finish I sought to do the right, rather than the convenient, thing and to be a decent public servant.

“The story of a rewarding and fortunate career is told in my own words, and readers can make their own assessment of a journey that I enjoyed and they will judge.”

The 56-year-old entered Parliament in 1997 as MP for Buckingham and held several shadow ministerial positions before taking the Speaker’s chair on June 22 2009, promising to serve “no more than nine years in total”.

He abandoned that commitment ahead of the 2017 snap election, but allegations of bullying by former members of his staff, denied by the Speaker, led to fresh calls for him to quit.

He came under fire for a series of controversial rulings in the chamber which were widely considered to favour Remain supporters as Brexit dominated recent business in Parliament.

John Bercow final Speaker’s Procession
John Bercow arrives for his final day as House of Commons Speaker (UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA)

Sir Lindsay Hoyle replaced Mr Bercow as Commons Speaker last week.

Alan Samson, chairman of publisher Weidenfeld & Nicolson, described the book as “a grippingly candid narrative of a truly eventful political life”.

Unspeakable is due to be released on February 6 2020.

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