A LABOUR MP revealed yesterday that he had traded his support for university top-up fees at the last minute for two favours for his constituency.

Austin Mitchell, 69, MP for Great Grimsby, was a firm opponent of government plans for variable tuition fees of up to £3,000 until a few minutes before Tuesday night’s crunch vote.

He changed his mind, however, helping the Government to secure the slimmest of majorities, when whips agreed to his demands for two concessions for Grimsby unrelated to the Higher Education Bill.

Opposition spokesmen on education reacted with fury and disbelief last night when they learnt of the deal.

Mr Mitchell, a maverick who once pledged to change his name to Austin Haddock to draw attention to the plight of local fishermen, refused to disclose the two favours.

He told The Times Higher Education Supplement that he had voted “through gritted teeth and very miserably” for the Bill but could not turn down the offers.

He added: “I told them that if these could be agreed, it might help me to make up my mind, and clearly the Government was running scared because they did agree. Now, this morning, I am feeling a bit bad about it, but, hey, that’s politics.”

Tim Yeo, the Shadow Education Secretary, said that the deal was outrageous. “It shows complete cynicism that thousands of students will now face higher debts in order to placate the wishes of a backbench MP with a constituency problem or two,” he added.

Phil Willis, the Liberal Democrat education spokesman, said: “It is disgraceful that the Secretary of State (for Education, Charles Clarke) is acting like Del Boy, going around handing out dodgy goods to backbenchers.”

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