MP expenses U turn slammed

By kbailes

A Government U turn on the decision to publish full details of MP's expense claims has been slammed by Dover and Deal Tory parliamentary candidate Charlie Elphicke.

Mr Elphicke has described the move by Harriet Harman to stop expense details being open to scrutiny, in defiance of a High Court order made last year, as "truly disgusting."

On Thursday members are expected to vote in favour of a law which will exempt them from parts of the Freedom of Information Act, meaning they will not have to publish receipts from claims on second homes allowances, a Government pay out of tax payers' cash to MPs who have second properties in London. Cash can be used to pay for anything from plasma TVs, refurbishment and even council tax bills.

This will make MPs the only public sector employees with special privileges to protect them from disclosing their expenses.

But Dover and Deal Labour MP Gwyn Prosser has vowed not to back the vote, saying: "At no time have I sought any exemptions, I can not see the justification for such exemptions and I will not be voting for any exemptions.

"If the vote is lost then all details of all MP's expenses will be published. If the vote is carried I will still endeavour to publish my own expenses in as much detail as possible - but this will require the assistance of the House of Commons Administration Department."

The news comes as the Commons had been preparing to publish a breakdown of receipts for every claim made by every MP since 2005. Hundreds of thousands of pounds were spent scanning more than one million receipts, delaying the expected publication in October. Now, if the law is passed, the work will be abandoned and expenses information will be published under 26 general categories rather than the current 13.

Matthew Elliott, of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "It is an absolute disgrace that the Government are going to such absurd lengths to keep MPs' expenses secret from the very people who pay the bills."