MPs expenses

[Perdita]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/news.../mps-expenses/

The Daily Telegraph lists what our MPs are claiming in expenses - it is disgraceful and the system must be changed. These people are on high incomes as it is yet they are legally fiddling the system.

[di marco]

i understand that if they live a long way from london then they need 2 homes. however some of the stuff they are buying for it is ridiculous! just read a couple from the telegraph website, one spent over £900 on a tv! and i think it was about £800 for a new bed. why cant they just buy the cheap versions that everyone else has to buy? do they really need to purchase the really expensive stuff. i bought a new tv the other day for just over £100, flat screen, built in dvd player and freeview, why cant they just buy a tv like that for their second homes? just cos theyre not paying for it they seem to be buying the most expensive things possible which is disgusting!

[Meh]

Why do they need another house that they own paid for by the tax payers?

Surely it makes sense for the Govt to buy houses/flats which are then utilised for the duration of the MPs tenure.

[Abbie]

I think its disgusting

[Katy]

and people go on about people living off benefits, surely this is the same at the other end of the spectrum, just higher. i think it might be worse in a sense as these people really do not need the expenses they are trying to claim for.

[Chloe O'brien]

How can they justify £300 for two toilet seats and £5000 to decorate a one-bedroom flat. Its scandulous they should be made to live in accomodation like student flats within walking distance of Westminster and if they want should be made to shop at IKEA or Homebase the same as everyone else. Give them vouchers for a set amount and if they want to buy anything more expensive then it comes out of their own earnings.

[Abbie]

Its just soooo silly!

[Chloe O'brien]

Regardless if the MP's pay back the money or not. The public will remember their lies and at the next General Election there will be a mass clearout of all parties.

[StarsOfCCTV]

A panel of senior Scotland Yard officers and prosecutors are to meet next week to decide what action to take over claims that MPs misused parliamentary expenses.

Officials will assess whether criminal inquiries are necessary in the wake of a surge in the number of complaints from members of the public.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer have decided to establish the panel, a spokesman said.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Metropolitan Police have issued a joint statement.

The move follows several days of speculation as to whether any criminal inquiries would be launched.

It said: "Before the recent media exposure about alleged misuse of parliamentary expenses, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner instigated meetings between the Metropolitan Police and CPS in relation to a number of allegations made to police.

"Due to the increase in subsequent allegations received by the Metropolitan Police, the Commissioner and Director of Public Prosecutions have jointly decided to convene a panel to assess allegations in order to decide whether criminal investigations should be started. A panel, comprising officers and a senior CPS lawyer, will commence a series of meetings next week."

Campaign groups have threatened to launch private prosecutions if the Metropolitan Police will not investigate.

Technically, the police are unable to start an investigation until an allegation or a formal complaint is made.

It is understood some senior officers are unwilling for the force to become embroiled in another complex political inquiry. Previous political probes included investigations dubbed cash-for-honours, donorgate and lords-for-hire.

[Meh]

What pisses me off the most is how they tried to get out of this mess. The FOI act all of a sudden didn't apply to politicians due to "potential terrorist threats". The real reason was they didn't want the public to know how they had been screwing the system for years.