A MERSEY MP has been acclaimed as parliament’s “Inquisitor of the Year” after he forced Gordon Brown into a U-turn over the 10p tax rate fiasco.

Birkenhead MP Frank Field picked up the prize at the annual Spectator magazine awards in recognition of his dogged pursuit of the truth after the prime minister denied that millions would lose out.

In fact, as questions tabled by the Labour backbencher proved, around 5.3m people were left out of pocket – forcing Mr Brown into a £2.7bn handout to compensate them.

A modest Mr Field denied he was much of an inquisitor, instead suggesting he should have won “Apology of the Year” after he described Mr Brown’s career as “tragic” and said he was prone to “tempers of an indescribable nature”.

Those comments led to Mr Field saying sorry on the floor of the Commons, although relations between the pair remain frosty.

Mr Field said: “The truth is I didn’t do much inquisition. What I might have qualified for was apology of the year. There is a legitimate role for apology in politics.”

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