Publishing expenses
- 16 May 08, 11:06 AM
Another defeat for MPs trying to protect their expenses. The Commons now has no option but to publish the details of the 14 prominent MPs and former MPs who were the subject of this case.
A few weeks ago I was told that the Commons were preparing to publish everything for all MPs. That now seems to have changed. The Commons Committee responsible for security has been told that in order to protect MPs from terrorists, violent campaigners and obsessives nothing should be published that would reveal their addresses, travel patterns and the identities of those with access to their house.
These arguments were not made in the original FOI hearing about the 14 and could not, therefore, be added into later appeals.
PS. Below is the script of an essay I wrote for the Today programme at the end of Gordon Brown's extraordinary week. Some have complained that it showed contempt for him. All the contentious phrases are taken from conversations I had with sources in the Labour Party who wished to remain anonymous. They are not my own. This sort of journalism is, by its nature, off the record and I chose for ease of the listener (and now the reader) not to say "one MP said that" ....etc
