Controversies
In 2007, Burns successfully proposed to the House of Commons Administration Committee, of which he was then a member, that Members of Parliament should have "priority access" to services within the Parliamentary Estate. In practice, this meant that MPs could avoid queues for shops, restaurants, bars, computers, photocopiers and even toilets by "pushing in" ahead of visitors or staff. The so-called "queue jumping rule" provoked cross-party opposition from Commons staff and other MPs but Burns trenchantly defended the proposal.
On 3 April 2008, Burns was involved in a collision with a cyclist as he drove his 4x4 out of the Palace of Westminster into Parliament Square. The cyclist, British Army Major Stuart Lane, was thrown over the handlebars of his bicycle and broke two vertebrae in his neck "which could hinder his Army career". In February 2009 Burns pleaded guilty to a charge of careless driving and was fined £400 with £200 costs at the City of Westminster Magistrates' Court.
In June 2010, Burns was forced to issue “a grovelling apology” after calling Commons speaker John Bercow a "stupid sanctimonious dwarf." Burns was one of the few MPs to refuse to shake the Speaker’s hand when he took the oath of allegiance and his remarks were branded "derogatory" by the primordial dwarfism medical charity, Walking with Giants Foundation who expressed very serious concern about the negative influence of the remarks from someone of Burns' seniority.
In November 2011, Burns compared members of the campaigning group 38 Degrees to zombies, this led thousands of complaints and an open letter to Burns with over 85,000 signatures.
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