He asked members of the House to consider if they would object to having the Speaker being married to an MP.
“I think the answer is no – that would be perfectly all right. There is no direct reporting line between the Speaker and an MP. Thus, an open, legitimate relationship between the Speaker and an MP is not in itself objectionable,” Mr Lee said.
He added that while this situation did not fall into the category where immediate action had to be taken, the Speaker has some official capacity vis-a-vis MPs, which puts other MPs and staff in an “awkward position”.
“After I spoke to Mr Tan in November 2020, he told me that the relationship would end. I took it to be so. I therefore felt there was some leeway to take some time, to decide what further steps to take,” Mr Lee said.
In this context, Mr Lee offered some possible actions that could have followed.
“On the basis that the extramarital affair had stopped, I would have asked Mr Tan to step down as Speaker sometime before the end of the term, but in a way which would reduce the public embarrassment to him and his family,” he said.
“As to whether one or both should also resign as MPs – I hadn’t decided at that time, but quite likely both would have had to leave at some point.
“On reflection, as I said, I should have forced the issue earlier, certainly before mid-term,” Mr Lee added.
The Prime Minister also told the House that while there was no doubt that Mr Tan and Ms Cheng behaved improperly, innocent family members were involved.
“Likewise for the case involving a former member across the aisle, in the Workers’ Party (WP). All their families are suffering,” Mr Lee said.
Two days after Mr Tan and Ms Cheng resigned, WP senior members Leon Perera – who was MP for Aljunied GRC – and Nicole Seah also resigned from the opposition party over an affair.
Mr Lee added: “I hope that MPs and the public can empathise and have compassion for the families, and give them the privacy and space they need to heal.”