Editing Bob Wareing (section)

==Parliamentary career==
Wareing was first elected to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] at the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://members.parliament.uk/member/487/career|title=Parliamentary career for Mr Robert N. Wareing – MPs and Lords – UK Parliament|website=members.parliament.uk}}</ref> having previously stood (unsuccessfully) in [[Liverpool Edge Hill]] at the [[1979 Liverpool Edge Hill by-election|by-election in March 1979]] and at the [[1979 United Kingdom general election|1979 general election]]. He also contested [[Berwick-upon-Tweed (UK Parliament constituency)|Berwick upon Tweed]] in 1970.

Wareing spoke during a House of Commons debate on Bosnia on 29 April 1993. He objected to the recognition in 1992 of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] by the British government: "People have been talking about the Bosnians as a nation. There is no nationality of Bosnian. They are Serbs, Croats and Muslims. Even the Muslims are Serbs".<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1993/apr/29/bosnia "Bosnia"], HoC Debate, ''Hansard'', vol 223 cc1167-248, col.1231, 29 April 1993. Partially cited by Simms (below).</ref> His statements on the subject were contrary to historical fact, according to Mladen Grbin.<ref>Mladen Grbin [http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/mp-is-the-latest-victim-of-bosnia-1.381866 "MP is the latest victim of Bosnia"], ''The Herald'' (Glasgow), 30 August 1997</ref>

Wareing, who was Chairman of the All-Party British-Yugoslav Parliamentary Group from 1994, held talks in 1995 with the Bosnian Serb leaders [[Radovan Karadžić]] and General [[Ratko Mladić]].<ref name="Simms">Brendan Simms [https://books.google.com/books?id=M-YC-pvi_t0C&pg=PT435 ''Unfinest Hour: Britain and the Destruction of Bosnia''], London: Penguin, 2002, p.435-37</ref> Wareing told neither his constituency party, nor the Labour Party nationally about his intention to meet Karadžić, who was then wanted for war crimes,<ref name="Herald95">[http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/croatian-army-calls-the-shots-labour-anger-over-mp-s-visit-1.668963 "Croatian army calls the shots. Labour anger over MP's visit. "], ''The Herald'' (Glasgow), 31 July 1995</ref> during his visit to the Serb controlled areas of Bosnia.<ref name="Simms"/> Wareing, who was accompanied by the Conservative peer [[Francis Ormsby-Gore, 6th Baron Harlech|Lord Harlech]], was not directly criticised at the time by [[Tony Blair]], the Labour leader, although Blair's spokesman did distance him from Wareing.<ref name="Herald95"/>

In June 1997, Wareing was suspended from membership of the Labour Party on suspicion of breaking the rules governing MP's lobbying.<ref>{{cite news
 |author=Christian Wolmar 
 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/labour-suspends-mp-in-lobbying-row-1256667.html 
 |title=Labour suspends MP in lobbying row 
 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] 
 |date=19 June 1997 
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/labour-suspends-mp-in-lobbying-row-1256667.html 
 |archivedate=30 June 2009
 |url-status=dead 
 |df=dmy 
}}</ref> In July 1997, the House of Commons [[Select Committee on Standards and Privileges]] reprimanded and suspended Wareing from the Commons for a week<ref>{{cite news
 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/labour-mp-suspended-for-week-1253205.html 
 |author=Anthony Bevins 
 |title=Labour MP suspended for week 
 |newspaper=The Independent 
 |date=30 July 1997 
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/labour-mp-suspended-for-week-1253205.html 
 |archivedate=30 June 2009
 |url-status=dead 
 |df=dmy 
}}</ref> over the non-declaration of the interests of his consultancy firm.<ref>{{cite news
 |title=Hansard 
 |url=http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo971030/debtext/71030-12.htm 
 |publisher=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] 
 |date=30 October 1997 
 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199798/cmhansrd/vo971030/debtext/71030-12.htm 
 |archivedate=30 June 2009
 |url-status=dead 
 |df=dmy 
}}</ref> He was found to have received illicit funds as a lobbyist from Serbian firms.<ref name="Simms"/>

Nicknamed "Serbian Bob" or the "member for Belgrade" as a result of his pro-Serb views, he was one of the few Labour MPs to vote against the [[Kosovo War|NATO intervention over Kosovo]] in 1999. Wareing was a member of the [[Socialist Campaign Group]], and frequently rebelled against the government. On 31 October 2006, Wareing was one of 12 Labour MPs to back [[Plaid Cymru]] and the [[Scottish National Party]]'s call for an inquiry into the [[Iraq War]].<ref>{{cite web
 |work=BBC News 
 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6104310.stm 
 |title=Labour MPs who rebelled on Iraq 
 |date=31 October 2006 
 |accessdate=31 October 2006 
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6104310.stm
 |archivedate=30 June 2009 
 |url-status=dead 
 |df=dmy 
}}</ref>

In August 2007, Wareing failed to gain sufficient support from Labour Party and trade union members in his constituency party to avoid facing a re-selection challenge as the Labour candidate for the next general election. On 16 September 2007, Wareing was defeated in a selection contest by [[Stephen Twigg]], a former MP. Wareing denounced his de-selection as the work of a "New Labour Mafia", announcing his intention to seek re-election as an independent, and resigned the Labour whip.<ref>{{cite web
 |work=BBC News 
 |date=17 September 2007 
 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6999733.stm 
 |title=Deselected Wareing to quit Labour 
 |accessdate=18 September 2007 
|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/merseyside/6999733.stm |archivedate=30 June 2009
 |url-status=dead 
 |df=dmy 
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web 
 |author=David Bartlett 
 |url=http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_headline=rejected-mp-bob-wareing-vows-to-stand-as-an-independent&method=full&objectid=19801977&siteid=50061-name_page.html 
 |title=Rejected MP Bob Wareing vows to stand as an independent 
 |date=17 September 2007 
 |accessdate=24 September 2007 
 |work=[[Liverpool Daily Post]] 
 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_headline%3Drejected-mp-bob-wareing-vows-to-stand-as-an-independent%26method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D19801977%26siteid%3D50061-name_page.html 
 |archivedate=30 June 2009 
 |url-status=dead 
 |df=dmy 
 }}</ref> However, on 4 March 2010, Wareing announced he would not be standing at the general election.<ref>{{cite news
 |author=Ian Hernon 
 |url=http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2010/03/04/west-derby-mp-bob-wareing-announces-he-will-not-contest-the-next-general-election-100252-25959287/ 
 |title=West Derby MP Bob Wareing announces he will not contest the next general election 
 |newspaper=Liverpool Echo 
 |date=4 March 2010 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2010/03/04/west-derby-mp-bob-wareing-announces-he-will-not-contest-the-next-general-election-100252-25959287/ 
 |archivedate=30 June 2009
 |url-status=dead 
 |df=dmy 
}}</ref>

According to a report in ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]]'' in February 2010, using newly disclosed parliamentary records, from April 2004 to July 2009, Wareing booked House of Commons dining facilities on 28 occasions for the hosting of Russian businessmen on behalf of the Leading Ventures Associates, or affiliated enterprises; the LVA course in total costing the businessmen £4,000 each.<ref>{{cite news
 |last=Barrett 
 |first=David 
 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/7175698/MP-Robert-Wareing-hosted-Commons-dinners-for-paying-Russian-businessmen.html 
 |title=MP Robert Wareing hosted Commons dinners for paying Russian businessmen 
 |date=6 February 2010 
 |accessdate=30 March 2014 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630013226/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/7175698/MP-Robert-Wareing-hosted-Commons-dinners-for-paying-Russian-businessmen.html 
 |archivedate=30 June 2009
 |url-status=dead 
 |df=dmy 
}}</ref>