A very powerful piece of writing by Bryan Forbes

[David Morton]

The Telegraph article above is a resumption of hostilities towards our MPs (Members of Parliament) because they have all been away for their summer recess and return
back to the Palace of Westminster in two weeks time ahead of the reopening on 12th October. That is a summer break from 21st July until 12th October.
Here is a list of all their other holidays:

House of Commons

Recess dates 2008-09 (NB: All recess dates are provisional)
State Opening: 3 December 2008​

<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=1><TBODY><TR><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

Recess​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

House rises​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

House returns​

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

Christmas​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

18 December 2008​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

12 January 2009​

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

Half Term​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

12 February 2009​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

23 February 2009​

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

Easter​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

2 April 2009​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

20 April 2009​

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

Whitsun​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

21 May 2009​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

1 June 2009​

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

Summer​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

21 July 2009​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

12 October 2009​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

In addition to the recess dates listed above, the House will not sit on the following Bank Holiday: 4 May

House of Commons calendar for 2008-09

Commons recess dates for previous sessions
State Opening of Parliament page
​

House of Lords

Recess dates 2008-09 (NB: All recess dates are provisional)
State Opening: 3 December 2008​

<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=1><TBODY><TR><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

Recess​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

House rises​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

House returns​

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

Christmas​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

18 December 2008​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

12 January 2009​

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

Half Term​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

12 February 2009​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

23 February 2009​

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

Easter​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

2 April 2009​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext width="25%" height=10>

20 April 2009​

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

Whitsun​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

21 May 2009​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

1 June 2009​

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

Summer​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

21 July 2009​

</TD><TD class=editonprotabletext vAlign=top width="25%" height=10>

12 October 2009​

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

In addition to the recess dates listed above, the House will not sit on the following Bank Holiday: 4 May.
Lords recess dates for previous sessions
State Opening of Parliament page​

Staggering really - that they want to cheat on their income as well as having so much time off. (The average British worker - my youngest daughter for example - gets two weeks off and some but not all bank holidays).

 

[Keith]

David, you may (or probably may not) be amused to learn today that "Two Jags Prescott" has publicly announced that:

"there is something wrong with the leadership of the Labour Party"

And, he should know from past experience, so - now, at last it's official..

(No Smilies were harmed in the posting of this message) :!blank:

 

[David Morton]

(No Smilies were harmed in the posting of this message) :!blank:<!-- google_ad_section_end -->

Don't you just love the humour of the members on this forum.

 

[David Morton]

MPs' expenses: Soldier tells of his disgust at greed

A serving soldier who worked in the room where MPs’ expenses were censored has described his “disappointment and disgust” when he discovered the extravagant claims made by politicians.



By Robert Winnett and Gordon Rayner
Published: 8:00AM BST 26 Sep 2009

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Ella Roberts joins her father L/Cpl Steven Roberts as 1st Bn The Royal Welsh parade in Chester before leaving for Afghanistan Photo: PA

Speaking for the first time, the Iraq veteran said he felt let down by the “cavalier attitude” of MPs in buying “frivolous” items at taxpayers’ expense, when he and other servicemen had to work in annual leave to buy life-saving kit such as body armour.
His experience is described in No Expenses Spared, a book published on Friday which tells the inside story of The Daily Telegraph’s investigation into MPs’ expenses.

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• Anger over soldiers' treatment led to MPs' expenses leak

On Friday, the Telegraph disclosed that the mole who leaked the expenses files did so out of anger at the Government’s failure to provide adequate equipment for troops in Afghanistan.
The mole was processing MPs’ files in a room at the Stationery Office which was protected by serving soldiers working as private security guards.
It prompted a furious Ministry of Defence to pour scorn on the suggestion that soldiers were moonlighting to buy equipment. Officials said service personnel would not be allowed to wear non-standard kit.
However, one of the soldiers who worked in the “redaction room” has agreed to speak out.
In a statement provided to the authors of the book, the soldier said: “I needed to earn extra money to buy a few items of essential equipment… simple items such as sunglasses, new boots and patrol gloves.
“Why, you might ask, would I be buying these items when they are already issued to us?
“The reason is quite simple: the quality of the items purchased in the civilian market is far superior to what we are currently issued with by the MoD. Another colleague who worked on the [MPs’ expenses] project wanted the extra money to buy a new ballistic vest. Again, a superior quality product which he was going to buy from a South African company.
“We are issued with ballistic vests but, again, it was simply a case of investing in a superior product for safety and security.
“As I am sure you can appreciate, confidence in one’s own equipment is essential in front-line battle.”
The soldier said he had been drawn into discussions with other workers in the room about the extravagance of MPs’ expense claims, discussions which led to anger among those censoring claims ahead of their official release.
“I cannot say that I felt anger at what was being revealed on a daily basis but certainly disappointment and disgust with some of the more frivolous claims,” he said. Despite being “pretty much a cross-section of society”, every-one in the room was appalled by what they saw in the files, he added. “We all understand our politicians have a job to do and that this job is not easy at times. However, that can be said for most of the working population.
“In corporate life and military life, it seems that our expenses systems are far more rigorous and stringent than those of our serving MPs.
“It seemed to be the feeling of the people in the room that this cavalier attitude towards taxpayers’ money was unacceptable.
“I find myself agreeing with this sentiment, especially in light of my own difficulties in obtaining equipment of a suitable standard to ensure my own safety in battle.”
The soldier stressed that, despite rumours to the contrary, neither he nor his military colleagues had been involved in the leaking of the information.
“My experience was that, despite conflicting feelings about the ethical and moral integrity of the material we were witnessing, my colleagues and I performed our duty in protecting that material with the utmost care and diligence, even though it did not carry any formal protective marking.”
On Friday, John Wick, the ex-SAS officer who brokered the deal for the MPs’ expenses files between the Telegraph and the mole, described the MoD denial that soldiers were working on the project to buy kit as “vacuous”.
In an online article for Telegraph.co.uk, he said: “Soldiers have always sought to access the best equipment. It is important for both comfort and security to have the best.
“The comment from an MoD spokesman that soldiers are not allowed to wear personal equipment they have purchased, is vacuous and shows how disconnected the civil servants are to those they are supposed to support in the military.”
No Expenses Spared, by The Daily Telegraph’s deputy political editor, Robert Winnett, and chief reporter Gordon Rayner

 

[David Morton]

The Daily Noose. Pun intended.

Baroness Scotland - she might as well take a job being fired out of a circus cannon
as she is just cannon fodder now. Her previous Tongan domestic aid has hired Max Clifford - quite a famous publicist though sometimes also a disreputable editor of one of the less creditable Sunday newspapers " The News of the World". He is also famous for dishing the dirt and Baroness Scotland is in his firing line.
That an Attorney General has been reduced to this sort of rubbish is just staggering.

From the Telegraph today:
Baroness Scotland faces new inquiry

Baroness Scotland faces further pressure to quit after her former housekeeper claimed that she was not asked to show the government minister a passport.



By David Barrett, Home Affairs Correspondent
Published: 11:26PM BST 26 Sep 2009

Baroness Scotland's account has been contradicted by her former housekeeper


Tongan Loloahi Tapui-Zivancevic has also claimed she was not asked to produce any immigration documents and that her passport contained a forged visa which was out of date.
Baroness Scotland, however, has insisted that Ms Tapui had shown her a passport, and suggested that there was a mystery "second passport" involved in the scandal.

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Last night it was reported that UK Border Agency officials found a Tongan passport belonging to Mrs Tapui-Zivancevic when they raided her flat last week, but that a visa it contained, apparently entitling her to work in the UK, had been forged but which was out of date when Baroness Scotland had taken her on.
But the Cabinet Minister was adamant that the passport she saw was not that document, but another – the details of which she could not recall.
Mrs Tapui-Zivancevic insists, however, the passport found in her flat is the only one she possesses and she claimed that she was prepared to take a lie detector test to prove that she is telling the truth.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, Mrs Tapui-Zivancevic revealed that she was paid just £6 and hour by Lady Scotland – just 27 p above the minimum wage and about £3 an hour below the going rate for housekeeping work in London.
Mrs Tapui-Zivancevic says that she was put to work cleaning Lady Scotland's £2 million home after an interview lasting just 10 minutes and including no questions about her family background.
"She just said to me 'do you want to start work now', and I said yes", the housekeeper revealed.
Mrs Tapui-Zivancevic also disclosed that she was sacked by a terse text message once the scandal of her immigration status was exposed, following a series of phone calls from her aides, belatedly trying to determine exactly what documents the housekeeper had produced at the job interview.
The latest revelations come as her professional body was urged to launch a highly embarrassing investigation into her conduct.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal that the Bar Standards Board has received a number of complaints about the beleaguered Cabinet minister, who was fined £5,000 for employing an illegal immigrant.
The development further intensifies pressure on Lady Scotland to step down amid growing concern within Labour that the affair will dominate this week's party conference.
Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, has been accused of showing weakness by failing to sack Lady Scotland, who said in interviews last week that her breach of immigration law could be compared with failing to pay London's congestion charge.
The most senior law officer in England and Wales avoided the sack despite becoming the first individual in the country to be sanctioned for breaching immigration rules that she helped frame as a Home Office minister. All other prosecutions have covered companies.
The Bar Standards Board does not normally investigate complaints about a lawyer's private life, but its own guidelines acknowledge that such an inquiry may be launched in "exceptional circumstances".
A spokeswoman for the board declined to comment about Lady Scotland's case and refused to disclose how many complaints had been received.
Senior legal sources have told this newspaper that the Bar Standards Board would have no alternative but to carry out an inquiry into whether the QC breached the barristers' code of conduct and brought the legal profession into disrepute.
The board was created just three years ago as part of the Bar's attempt to retain its self-regulating role, and failing to act could leave the organisation open to criticism, said lawyers.
"I have no doubt that the Bar Standards Board will deal with this properly and take appropriate action," said one QC.
Members of the disciplinary panel may now have to consider whether Lady Scotland's activities have been "dishonest or otherwise discreditable to a barrister".
The board has the power to disbar a lawyer who is found to have committed a serious breach of the code. Even if a lesser punishment is imposed – such as a fine, suspension or reprimand – it could be fatal to Lady Scotland's political career.
Any inquiry is likely to focus on whether the legal profession has been tarnished by Lady Scotland's breach of immigration laws and the imposition of a £5,000 fine, but Lady Scotland could face even more difficult questions if her version of events differs from the account given by Ms Tapui.
David Davies, the Conservative MP for Monmouth, was among those who asked the Bar Standards Board to examine the case.
Mr Davies said: "If Gordon Brown cannot bring himself to discipline her then the Bar Standards Board should look into whether she has breached her professional code.
"I would have thought that Lady Scotland has obviously brought discredit on to barristers through all this."
Mrs Tapui-ZivancevicTapui married Alexander Zivancevic in May 2007 at a church in west London. Immigration rules require non-EU citizens to obtain Home Office permission before marrying in Britain, but Church of England weddings are exempt from the rules.
The couple were detained by immigration officials last week and released on bail until next month.

 

[David Morton]

This week is the Labour Party conference
Annual Conference 2009 - The Labour Party
which is hosted by the National Executive and held in Brighton (on the south coast) which IMHO is a desolate and seedy place full of hippies, a rusty old pier, and dodgy hotels.
Next door to Brighton is a place called Hove. Enough said about Hove save that the late night bus service only caters for those that go home on the other bus.

Back to the conference and how it relates to Baroness Scotland (Lady Jock - it's less harmful to keyboards) and the person who will be her executioner , Max Clifford.
About two hours prior to Gordon Brown standing up to deliver his speech this week , Clifford will release all the dirt on Lady Jock in a torrent that Brown must be absolutely dreading. She will have to resign as a result of Cliffords disclosures and Brown will be made to look the total fool that he has become.
Todays Sunday Times relentlessly continues bashing Lady Jock about the incredible claims she has submitted.

Swift u-turn saved Baroness Scotland - Times Online

A week is an incredibly long time in politics but this absolutely shameful woman
can only measure her time now in days.
I am keeping a bottle of Champagne in the cooler for the moment.

 

[David Morton]

Tomorrow , Tuesday , is Browns big speech. I expect most of it to break in the newspapers overnight but the real 'dirty talk' just before lunch on Tuesday.

 

[David Morton]

Breaking news here in the UK: Eight American servicemen died in Afghanistan.
iCasualties | Operation Enduring Freedom | Afghanistan

Where have all the flowers gone?

So sad.

 

[Pete McCluskey.]

It is very sad David, while politicians are sitting on their hands our warriors are being maimed and killed. This is becoming another Vietnam.

 

[Ian Anderson]

I'd vote that for each of our troops killed in Afghanistan one MP has to be removed from office and all future public office
And the first to go must be at the top. Cheers Gordon
Then work your way down through the bunch of wallies

When someone with a backbone then takes over running the country their first objective will be to recall the troups and but up borders / security here.

IAn

 

[David Morton]

Bring back Martin Bell.
He has just launched his new book "A very British Revolution" which was originally to have been called "Swindlers Lists". I'm just going into town to get it. Apparently this disclosure by the Daily Telegraph concerning politicians expenses has only just started and is set to rumble on for many a long month yet.
Gordon Brown and the other "vixxers" seem to be totally deluded when they thought it was all over.
Remember the politicians and their unscrupulous swindling of you and your money when they come knocking on your door asking for support in the next few months.
It's going to be a cold cold christmas in Whitehall.
Rightly so as well. The time for them getting their hands slapped has long since gone. Local government is not exempt either.

 

[Keith]

Beware the Vacuum...

I'd like to meet someone with vision who could give us some hope to hang on to before we start to tear the rotten structure down...

In Britain (and probably everywhere else in the Western World) we have become experts in what's wrong with our respective societies but dunces at coming up with a better plan.

I believe the teeter totter is finely balanced right now and we should get our houses in order before the most powerful nation on earth starts to flex it's muscles beyond it's traditional sphere of influence - it's got to find it's 'lebensraum'. I will leave the reader to speculate which superpower I am referring to.

The Western democracies have become bankrupt not only financially, but morally too and for the first time in my life, I get quite scared thinking about it.

History also teaches us that in national power struggles, exponents of extremism & militarism know exactly how to exploit vacuums.

As Ian said we should look to our own borders and stop fucking around in the hinterlands. "Taking the war to the Terrorists" my arse, Afghanistan is a bloody terrorist mass production facility! We've done our bit and died for the "special relationship" but it's time to haul ass and GTF out of there.

Martin Bell's crusade to find an honest politician/councillor is, however, doomed. The current vogue of the pursuit of power and wealth infects all levels of our society and will dictate a never ending stream of would-be political ne'er do wells looking to make politics a career move instead of a calling or desire to serve.

Martin Bell should have started his crusade against the biggest spiv of all - Peter Mandelson who has come to symbolise the immoral lust for power at any price - this unelected wide boy is now dictating to us at all levels of politics and will no doubt try to ensure the election of Blair to European President. (It is alleged and without prejudice).

This is a power base beyond all comprehension and mustn't be allowed happen. This is a battle that must be fought - else I vote we leave Europe to him and leave the EEC forthwith.

 

[David Morton]

Keith,
Stand and you will get my vote.
Dave

 

[Jack]

Not my native country, but I have to agree with Keith Hardy on this one.
Since the advent of the EEC/EU, a great money eating regulatory monster has been created on all levels. Earlier this year I resigned as an international inspector for a European "Notified Body" because I simply did not like the direction the EU was going. For sure that Teflon Tony will become the next EU President. The writing is all but on the wall! In particular, The U.K. is endangered of being engulfed into the
"Euro" communities, forced by current economic policies and politic. At least you had enough balls to remain on the British Pound (for now). "One government, one currency" conspiracy is real. IMHO..

 

[David Morton]

From the Times on line this morning:



Expenses bills return to haunt up to 100 MPs




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• 42 Comments

<SCRIPT type=text/javascript>gSiteLife.Recommend("ExternalResource", "6869022","http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/politics/article6869022.ece");</SCRIPT>




<!--
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<!-- Remove following to not show photographer information --><!-- Remove following to not show image description -->The duck island which got Sir Peter Viggers, the Tory MP, into trouble
<!-- END: Portrait image -->


<!-- END: Module - Module - M24 Article Headline with portrait image (b) --><!-- BEGIN: Module - Main Article --><!-- Check the Article Type and display accordingly--><!-- Print Author image associated with the Author--><!-- Print the body of the article--><STYLE type=text/css>div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;} </STYLE><!-- Pagination -->The expenses scandal is set to engulf the House of Commons again on Monday when MPs will be sent an auditor’s letter about the claims they made over the past five years.
The Times has learnt that up to 100 MPs will be asked to repay expenses, or prove that their claims were legitimate. About a dozen are likely to face demands to hand back significant sums, in some cases “tens of thousands of pounds”.
Investigators working for Sir Thomas Legg, a former civil servant appointed by the Commons to audit MPs’ expenses, are understood to have focused on big mortgage claims, as well as extravagant charges for household services.
Sir Thomas is also said to have widened the net of his investigation to include MPs who exploited loopholes to make claims that were in breach of the spirit, if not the letter, of the fees system.

Some people thought they were only going to get a slap on the wrist.
Some people also think the public will forget about this.
Some people think it doesn't go on in local government as well.

 

[David Morton]

Daily Telegraph - Hot off the press:



MPs threaten to revolt over demands for expenses payback

MPs are threatening to defy orders to repay the taxpayer over questionable expenses claims – with many apparently poised to call in their solicitors.



<!-- Make sure there is no whitespoace at the end of the bline -->By Rosa Prince, Political Correspondent
Published: 12:01AM BST 12 Oct 2009

The prospect of MPs challenging the inquiry will alarm Gordon Brown and David Cameron, who are keen to draw a line under the affair Photo: PA


Auditors who have been pouring over the expenses claims dating back five years will today write to up to 500 past and present MPs highlighting areas of concern before inviting them to refund the public purse.
But in an astonishing act of defiance, a spokesman for the MPs warned that they would not accept “unfair” demands to repay claims which were approved by the Commons fees office.
<!-- BEFORE ACI -->
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The backlash against the audit will outrage a public which made clear its anger at MPs who excused their questionable claims by explaining that they were “within the rules”.
Sir Thomas Legg, who is leading the team of auditors commissioned to scrutinise claims following The Daily Telegraph’s disclosures about widespread abuse of the system, is said to be applying a “reasonableness test” to the task.
His is thought to be taking a critical view of claims, such as excessive bills for cleaning or gardening, even where they were approved by the fees office.
But Sir Stuart Bell, who sits on the Members Estimates Committee which the Legg committee will report to, said that asking for repayment for items which had been approved amounted to a change of “criteria”.
He suggested that if Sir Thomas strayed outside his “remit,” then MPs would be justified in refusing to pay money back.
Speaking on Radio 4’s World at One, Sir Stuart said: "I think many MPs ... may feel he's not staying within that remit, he's not respecting the decisions that were made by the fees office in accordance with the rules at the time.
“Fairness and justice has to apply to Members of Parliament and if there is a suspicion that Sir Thomas is not abiding by the rules and standards at the time, I think the public would accept that some breach of fairness there is not actually proper for our Members of Parliament."
As the Members Estimates Committee has the final say over whether the Legg review should be implemented, Sir Stuart’s words raise the prospect of MPs refusing to pay back money on a wholesale basis.
Even if the Legg recommendations are accepted by the Committee, a number of MPs, including many among the more than 100 who have announced their retirement at the next election, and others who have privately made up their mind to go, are said to be planning to call in legal advice to challenge the rulings.
As Legg has no legal powers, MPs who refuse to accept a recommendation that they repay expenses cannot be forced to do so by law.
While it would be possible for reluctant MPs to be referred to the Parliamentary watchdog, the worst sanction open to the Commissioner on Standards is suspension from the House.
And with any sleaze inquiry likely to last many months, certainly beyond the election, there is little incentive for retiring MPs to pay any money back to the public purse.
John Mann, Labour MP for Bassetlaw, said: “There are going to be some very bitter MPs who feel that Legg is being unreasonable.
“It will get messy, very messy. Some may go to ground – those that are retiring are reluctant to pay up.
“I’ve heard that some are hiring solicitors. The next session of Parliament could be dominated by legal action. That would be a disaster for Parliament and for democracy.
“There’s plenty of bluster. They will argue that they made decisions based on advice from the fees office. If people are asked to repay the profits made from renovating their properties, they will be pleading poverty.
“But if people are standing down you won’t be able to force them. It will come down to money not principle. It’s a potential stand-off.’
"For those who are not staying on in the Commons or who want to become a Lord, there will be some who will refuse to pay altogether.
"They will say that the system wasn't a good system, the system didn't require them to keep receipts, and it may be unreasonable in their eyes to pay up. But that's tough – life isn't fair."
The row over Legg’s findings is likely to rumble on well into the New Year, at a time when tension among MPs over expenses is already high as they wait to hear the recommendations of the review being conducted by Sir Christopher Kelly into the future system for Parliamentary allowances.
Many are concerned that he could propose banning MPs from claiming mortgage payments, or even force them to live in rented communal accommodation, perhaps in the Olympic Village.
And there will almost certainly be more expenses furore when the latest round of claims, relating to the financial year 2008/9, is made public in November.
Labour MPs are particularly concerned that the scandal appears likely to remain in the public eye in the run-up to the general election, with some irritated at the Prime Minister for kicking the problem into the long grass by ordering the Legg review, only to have it rebound again at the worst possible time for the party.
While The Daily Telegraph’s disclosures were embarrassing for all parties, the swift reaction of David Cameron, the Conservative leader, who ordered his front bench to repay thousands of pounds within days of the revelations, meant that the worst of the “medicine” has already been taken by the Tories.
In contrast, most Labour MPs decided to wait for Legg’s findings before deciding whether to refund any money, meaning that many face the likelihood of having to write out a cheque just a few months – or even weeks – before polling day, and fight an election with their opponents making an issue out of their expenses on the doorstep.
So far, 106 MPs have announced their retirement from the Commons, but dozens more are expected to stand down before the poll which much come by June.
The row over the Legg review increases the likelihood that some of those with the most questionable claims will avoid refunding the taxpayer simply by opting to bow out of Parliament.
Sir Thomas has not examined the expenses of MPs who are undergoing police investigation, such as Labour’s Elliot Morley, who announced he would stand down over allegations he claimed for a “phantom” mortgage.
Members subject to a Parliamentary sleaze investigation, including Conservative backbencher Anne Main, who submitted allowances for a flat in which her daughter lived, will also not be covered by the review, meaning repayments in both categories are unlikely for some time.


Don't they know there is a war on and an election "in the offing"..........

 

[Keith]

Not my native country, but I have to agree with Keith Hardy on this one.
Since the advent of the EEC/EU, a great money eating regulatory monster has been created on all levels. Earlier this year I resigned as an international inspector for a European "Notified Body" because I simply did not like the direction the EU was going. For sure that Teflon Tony will become the next EU President. The writing is all but on the wall! In particular, The U.K. is endangered of being engulfed into the
"Euro" communities, forced by current economic policies and politic. At least you had enough balls to remain on the British Pound (for now). "One government, one currency" conspiracy is real. IMHO..

I vote we secede from the Union!

PS As a matter of interest Just how many of our Nato (and EEC) "allies" are committing themselves in Afghanistan beyond the token truck drivers, general base wallahs and medics?

 

[Keith]

Don't they know there is a war on and an election "in the offing"..........

So true David - shows you how THICK those buggers really are.

Pure unadulterated greed and as Edward Heath once remarked (probabably the ONLY sensible thing he ever said):

"The unacceptable face of Capitalism."

They need to be very very careful, else I predict a huge swing to the Right with all the attendant problems that will bring us. The voting public are ready for it...

 

[David Morton]

UK Taxpayer?
This cow has just got away with stealing £116,000 of yours and my money.
How on earth can this go unchecked ? Even Brown is having to repay money he 'stole' so how on earth will this bitch be allowed to escape. Guys - you cannot look the other way any more. You have to write in protest at what these arseholes are doing.
I told you a lot more was to come and it's just starting.

Jacqui Smith ordered to apologise over MP's expenses

Jacqui Smith, the former home secretary, has been ordered to apologise to the House of Commons after a watchdog found that she had "clearly" breached rules on second home expenses.



Published: 11:43AM BST 12 Oct 2009

Cabinet meltdown after Jacqui Smith resigned Photo: PA


But the Commons Standards and Privileges Committee said no further action should be taken on the Redditch MP's claims for expenses for cable-TV films - including adult movies watched by her husband.
In a report, the committee said Miss Smith had already acknowledged that these MP's expenses claims were unallowable, apologised and returned the money.
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In a written response to Mr Lyon's inquiry, sent to the committee in September and included in today's report, Miss Smith insisted her designation of her family residence as her second home was "reasonable and defensible".
She added: "I have never 'flipped'. I have only ever owned one home and I don't believe that making a different decision would have resulted in better value for money.
"I am disappointed that this process has not led to a fairer set of conclusions, based on objective and consistent application of the rules as they were at the time."
However, the committee rejected her argument, agreeing with Mr Lyon's finding that "the gravitational pull in terms of family and property is, on the basis of all the evidence I have seen, Redditch and not London".
It is thought likely that Miss Smith will make her apology in a personal statement to the Commons later today.
The report was published as letters were sent out to MPs by a separate review into their expenses.
Sir Thomas Legg is carrying out an audit of all allowances paid out over the last five years and has today written to raise questions over some claims. MPs are being given three weeks to provide justification for the money they received.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged MPs to comply with any of Sir Thomas's recommendations.
"We have got to clean up politics, we have got to consign the old discredited system to the dustbin of history, so this is part of the process of doing so," he told GMTV.
Commons Speaker John Bercow, who chairs the MEC, wrote to MPs today urging them to "cooperate fully" with the Legg inquiry.
"As you know, this review of past allowance payments is part of the important process of restoring public confidence in our allowance system and in the House," he wrote.
"The MEC, therefore, urges Members to cooperate fully with its inquiries."
An inquiry was launched into Miss Smith's expenses claims after it emerged that she had designated her family home in the West Midlands as her second home for expenses purposes, while listing a room at her sister's London house, where she lodged, as her main home.
Between 2006 and 2009, Miss Smith claimed £64,240 in Additional Costs Allowance for the Redditch property, including mortgage interest, utility bills, council tax, telephone, servicing, maintenance, repairs and cleaning.
Meanwhile, Standards Commissioner John Lyon also looked into complaints over expenses claims for reimbursement of a cable TV, telephone and broadband package over an eight-month period, which included additional sums for pay-per-view films and sporting events. Among these were pornographic movies which her husband Richard Timney has admitted watching while she was away.
Miss Smith has already apologised over the films, insisting that she did not know they were included in the claim, and has repaid £400. The Commissioner found that the sum wrongly claimed was in fact £185.20.
Mr Lyon concluded that Miss Smith was in breach of Commons rules over the designation of her second home from 2004 to 2009, and the committee today backed his finding that her constituency home was in fact her main home.
However, the committee said it was a "significant mitigating circumstance" that Miss Smith sought advice on her position from House authorities in 2007 and acted on it.
"Whilst we acknowledge that there are mitigating circumstances, Miss Smith clearly breached the rules of the House by wrongly designating her main home from 2004 to 2009," found the committee.
"We recommend that Miss Smith apologise to the House by means of a personal statement."
On the claim for TV movies, the committee said: "That Miss Smith wrongly claimed for unallowable expenditure is not in dispute. We welcome Ms Smith's admission of her error and her acceptance of responsibility.
"These, together with Miss Smith's early action to repay a sum in excess of that which she wrongly claimed and her apology to this committee are, in our view, sufficient for us to regard the matter as closed and we make no recommendation for further action."
Tory leader David Cameron urged everyone to respond to letters about their expenses, saying it was an important part of "cleaning up" politics.
"Every MP has got to take part in this, this is a very important part in cleaning up our politics, sorting out the mess of the House of Commons," he said on a visit to Bedford today.
The Opposition leader met the Conservative candidate for the town's mayoral by-election on Thursday.
Speaking on the expenses issue, he added: "Everybody should respond to these letters, respond to the inquiries that are being made and of course at the end of the process everyone will have to comply with what the authorities are asking."

 

[David Morton]

If this does not make your blood boil then I don't know what will. These lying conniving thieves are getting away with it and you - the British Taxpayer - are funding their grandiose lifestyle. If they claim everything they are currently seem allowed to, they are earning £100k plus and have 82 days holiday per year. That equates to a 3 week month every month of the year - out of your pocket......






MPs' expenses: £12,500 payback time for Brown


The Prime Minister is to repay more than £12,000 in expenses after an independent inquiry headed by Sir Thomas Legg found he had made excessive claims for cleaning, gardening and decorating.
MPs' expenses: The Telegraph investigation



<!-- 6309640 -->Jacqui Smith broke rules but need not repay

Former home secretary told she need not repay any of the £100,000 she claimed incorrectly in expenses.
Jacqui Smith: the long battle to discover expenses truth