Curious tale of how Commons Speaker John Bercow grew a few inches Parliamentary documents have disclosed that when the Commons Speaker was sitting for a controversial official portrait, his aides asked the artist to make sure he was painted the same size as his taller predecessors. Mr Speaker, who is almost 5ft 6in (166cm) tall, has been the subject of repeated jibes about his stature. He was also criticised last year when it was revealed that the portrait by the artist Brendan Kelly - along with matching coat of arms - cost the taxpayer more than £37,000. House of Commons emails seen by The Daily Telegraph show Mr Bercow's staff were less concerned at the size of the bill than the size of the picture and the man it depicts. In November 2010, Mr Kelly informed the Speaker's office that he planned a canvas 84in x 46in (213cm x 117cm). In response, one of Mr Bercow's staff emailed an official to say this was "slightly narrower" than the 50in-wide portrait of Baroness Boothroyd, who was Speaker from 1992 to 2000. It is also smaller than the picture of Lord Martin of Springburn, Mr Bercow's direct predecessor. The second Commons official agreed to seek Mr Bercow's approval for a smaller portrait than earlier Speakers, and added: "As long as he is assured that the impact of the portrait will hold its own against the recent state portraits, I don't think the slight size differential will matter to him." The following month, a Commons official emailed Mr Kelly seeking reassurances that Mr Bercow would be painted the same size as his taller predecessors. The official asked Mr Kelly: "With the composition you suggest, will the size of the head and scale of body be in keeping with those in the Martin and Boothroyd portraits?"