MP's Expenses Scandal
A Brief Overview of the 2009 British Parliamentary Expenses Issues
Nov 4, 2009
In the United Kingdom, Members of Parliament (MPs) can claim expenses for costs which occurred solely whilst carrying out their parliamentary duties.
The Initial Release of MPs Expenses
After a number of court rulings, it was decided that a full report of MPs expenses would be published in July 2009, albeit with some sensitive information left out.
However, The Daily Telegraph, having obtained a full copy the expenses records, began to release the claims of many prominent MPs. Starting on the 8 May 2008, the newspaper began publishing daily instalments with information regarding the expenses, some of which were deemed to be inappropriate and some MPs were declared to be taking advantage of the system.
The newspaper defended its actions by stating that when the official records were released in the summer, they would have omitted some key information regarding second homes.
The claims included one from Douglas Hogg who allegedly used £2,115 of government money to have the moat of his country estate cleaned. Cheryl Gillan claimed £4.47 worth of pet food and Derek Conway was found to have employed his son for £10,000 a year whilst he was still a full time undergraduate student at Newcastle University.
On 18 June 2009, the details of all MPs expenses were published on the official Parliament website.
The Aftermath
The release of the expenses information prompted widespread reaction. The information was made public in the middle of an economic recession under an already unpopular government, and weeks from the 2009 European Parliamentary Elections.
Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, apologised on Monday 11th May 2009 on behalf of politicians for the claims which had been made.
The major newspapers jumped on the news, with major publications such as The Times describing the controversy as "Parliament's Darkest Day" on 15 May 2009.
The Daily Telegraph strung out the breaking of the news for a number of days.
A number of MPs resigned, or have been forced to, after their expenses were made public. The then-Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin was forced to resign having approved the allowances system which the MPs had allegedly abused.
Source of Expenses Information
John Wick, a former army officer and owner of a risk management company has been named as the man who brought the information to the Telegraph itself. Wick stated that he was a middle man for an un-named source.
Wick explained that following legal advice, he felt the information he had was of enough merit to be published in a major national newspaper.
Independent InvestigationSir Thomas Legg headed up an investigation into expenses claims made between 2004 and 2009.
The panel published its findings on 12 October 2009 and each MP recieved a letter explaining whether they had to repay any claims they had made in the past.
There has been some anger expressed my MPs due to Legg imposing new rules retrospectively, although most have agreed at the time of writing to repay what they have been asked to.
Sources:
BBC News
The Daily Telegraph
The Times
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