MPs' Expenses: Alan Duncan Claimed £63,000 in Mortgage 'Flip'
THE TELEGRAPH: Alan Duncan, a senior Conservative MP, has claimed tens of thousands of pounds in mortgage interest on his designated second home – even though he had owned the property outright for more than a decade, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

Mr Duncan, the shadow leader of the House of Commons, bought a country house in Rutland in 1992 without a mortgage being secured against the property.

He designated the house as his “second home” for the purposes of claiming parliamentary expenses.

However, it was not until early 2004 that the multi-millionaire MP took out a £271,000 mortgage on the house. Since then, Mr Duncan has claimed £1,400 a month in mortgage interest payments on the house. In total, he has claimed more than £63,000 for the cost of interest on the mortgage.

The arrangement will lead to questions over whether Mr Duncan, a former oil trader, is milking the parliamentary allowances system. He has been appointed by David Cameron to lead the Conservative campaign to clean up the system. >>> Holly Watt | Friday, July 04, 2009

Blackout: The Great MPs' Expenses Cover-up
THE TELEGRAPH: MPs face universal condemnation over “disgraceful” censorship of their expenses claims.

MPs expenses: What data published by the Telegraph shows.
Party leaders struggled to explain the decision to publish heavily blacked-out versions of MPs’ claims as public anger mounted.

Despite a pledge from Gordon Brown that “transparency” was the only way to restore public faith in democracy, the files released by the Commons authorities withheld details that would have exposed the worst abuses of the expenses system.

The parliamentary expenses files do not expose MPs who have “flipped” their designated second homes and many of the most controversial claims have been completely blacked out in the documents.

Details that would have allowed the public to identify interest claimed on so-called “phantom mortgages” — such as in the case of Elliot Morley, the former environment minister — or MPs who were able to avoid paying capital gains tax on the sale of properties — such as Kitty Ussher, the Treasury minister forced to resign — were also excluded.

Controversial claims by Tory MPs for the cleaning of a moat and the purchase of a floating duck island were also omitted. >>> By Robert Winnett and James Kirkup | Thursday, June 18, 2009

MAIL Online: As the Nation Fumes at Expenses 'Blackwash' Scandal MPs Are Rewarded with £10,000 Pay Rise

Shameless MPs are set to provoke fresh public anger by pocketing a staggering £10,000-a-year pay rise.

The salary hike comes as MPs faced a backlash today over their blatant attempt to cover up expenses scams.

After weeks of public fury at leaked details, Commons officials unlocked their files yesterday - with crucial details covered in thick black ink.

It meant MPs who 'flipped' homes to claim on different properties - or charged for services such as moat-cleaning - were spared further embarrassment.

Despite growing fury among voters, it has now been revealed that they are to be rewarded for their greed with a £10,000 pay rise.

The head of the body that will now set their pay said they were underpaid by '10 to 15 per cent'.

The astonishing rise - up to five times the rate of inflation - comes as millions of workers across Britain face the threat of redundancy, salary freezes and even pay cuts. >>> By James Chapman | Friday, June 19, 2009

This Sleazy Government!
THE TELEGRAPH: Shahid Malik has admitted that the taxpayer had met the costs of office space in his constituency house and his designated second home in London simultaneously.

Mr Malik said he needed the extra office space because the constituency office he inherited was not big enough. Photo courtesy of The Telgraph
The Communities Minister claimed the maximum second home allowance for his London property while the office on the ground floor of his constituency house was funded through a separate parliamentary “office” expenses system.

The disclosure threatens to undermine the Prime Minister who only returned Mr Malik to government earlier this week after receiving assurances that his financial affairs were in order.

It now appears that Downing Street failed to scrutinise Mr Malik’s expense claims thoroughly before allowing him to hold ministerial office again. MPs' Expenses: Shahid Malik Admits Charging Taxpayer for Two Houses >>> By Robert Winnett, James Kirkup and Holly Watt | Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Gordon Brown Accused of Expenses 'Cover-up' Over Shahid Malik's Return to Government
THE TELEGRAPH: Gordon Brown has been accused of suppressing a report of an investigation into whether the minister Shahid Malik broke the rules over parliamentary expenses, despite a promise to bring in a new era of "transparency" in politics.

Shahid Malik MP and Tahir Zaman. Photo courtesy of The Telegraph
Mr Brown was accused of "falling at the first hurdle" in his efforts to reform Westminster by refusing to release the full report of an inquiry into Mr Malik's affairs.

Sir Christopher Kelly, the chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said last night the report should be published.

Mr Malik stepped down as justice minister last month after The Daily Telegraph reported his landlord's claim that he was paying well below the market rate for his constituency home in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

Tahir Zaman claimed that the MP was paying less than £100 a week for the three-bedroom house which he designated as his main home, thereby allowing him to claim thousands of pounds by designating his house in London as his second home.

Sir Philip Mawer, Gordon Brown's adviser on ministerial conduct, was asked to investigate because The Telegraph's disclosures raised questions about whether Mr Malik's rental arrangements over his main home breached the ministerial code of conduct.

The code states that members of the Government must not accept any "gift or hospitality" which risks putting them under an "obligation".

It also says that ministers must inform civil servants of "all interests which might be thought to give rise to a conflict" of interest.

Officials at the Ministry of Justice had not been formally notified of Mr Malik's arrangements.

Yesterday Mr Brown reappointed Mr Malik as a minister, giving him a job in the Department of Communities and Local Government.

Announcing the appointment, Downing Street said a report by Sir Philip cleared Mr Malik of any wrongdoing over his arrangement with Mr Zaman, who was once fined for letting an "uninhabitable" home. Mr Zaman claimed that the tenants were already in occupation when he took over the property.

However, Mr Brown has refused to approve the release of Sir Philip's report. The refusal threatens to overshadow a Commons statement from the Prime Minister today about moves to clean up the Westminster expenses system. >>> By James Kirkup | Wednesday, June 10, 2009

YOUTUBE: Shahid Malik: Money for Muslims

Rats Desert Sinking Ship: Shamed Jacqui Smith Leads Ministers Scrambling for the Exit
Jacqui Smith. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: Gordon Brown's grip on government was faltering last night as Jacqui Smith led a ministerial scramble for the exit.
The Home Secretary plunged his Cabinet reshuffle into chaos by letting it be known she is resigning.

An emotional Miss Smith told friends 
she could not stand the pressure on her family over revelations that her husband's porn films were charged to the taxpayer.

She becomes the biggest casualty of the MPs' expenses scandal.

Miss Smith told Mr Brown of her decision two months ago, but he asked her to keep it secret until he finalised the Cabinet shake-up.

Instead, the news came out just 48 hours ahead of elections expected to be a Labour disaster. >>> By James Chapman | Wednesday, June 03, 2009

SAVAGE NATION:
Take hope, Michael! You’re winning! >>>

GEERT WILDERS:
Take heart, Geert! You’re winning, too! >>>

Steen: 'People Are Jealous of My House'

MPs' Expenses Whistleblower: 'I Wanted to Expose the System to Its Rotten Core'
MAIL Online: The man behind the sale of MPs' expenses claims broke his silence last night to reveal he wanted to expose the system to its 'rotten core'.

John Wick, a former SAS officer, said he was proud of his role as a whistleblower.

He claimed that he acted because campaigners were being frustrated in their attempts to access full details of how taxpayers' money was being spent.

And so much of the information which Parliament was preparing to release this summer was redacted that many of the worse scams and claims would have gone undetected.

Mr Wick – who commanded a British anti-terrorism team during his ten-year military service – is now the head of a corporate intelligence company which specialises in negotiating the release of hostages in foreign war zones.

Suggesting he had been motivated by the growth of the surveillance society, he said: 'We’ve reached a stage where they want to know everything about us – I think we're entitled to know about them.' >>> By Michael Lea | Saturday, May 23, 2009

MPs Expenses: Labour's Khalid Mahmood Spent £2,575 Staying in 'Riot of Gold, Marble and Silk' Hotel with Girlfriend
Hotel living: Khalid Mahmood spent thousands staying in an upmarket hotel in Kensington rather than in a second home. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
MAIL Online: Labour MP Khalid Mahmood is the latest to be sucked into the expenses scandal.

He stayed at a five-star hotel in London with his girlfriend and charged hundreds of pounds to the taxpayer as his second home allowance.

Mahmood, who is the MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, claimed a total of £1,350 for nine nights stay over a four-week period in 2004, when he stayed at The Bentley hotel in Kensington.

He also claimed £1,225 for five nights stay in 2008.

Mahmood used the hotel after separating from partner Nasim Akhtar, with whom he lived in Wembley, though this address was not given on his 2004 claims form.

He checked into the hotel with then girlfriend Elaina Cohen under the fake names Mr Khaled and Eleine Mahmood.

Mahmood denies any wrongdoing. He said of the hotel: 'It was close to the Tube station and it was easy to get to Parliament.' >>> | Saturday, May 23, 2009

MPs' Expenses: Cash Secrets of MPs Who Tried to Stop You Seeing Their Expenses
THE TELEGRAPH: The full details of the taxpayer-funded expenses claimed by the MPs who battled to keep them secret can be disclosed for the first time.

Clockwise: David Maclean, Julian Lewis, David Clelland and Fraser Kemp. Photos courtesy of The Telegraph
An investigation by The Sunday Telegraph has established that backers of a Bill two years ago which aimed to exempt Parliament from the full force of the Freedom of Information Act have benefited from thousands of pounds paid under the second home expenses system.

Examples ranged from a former government whip who “bought out” his partner from her share of a London flat at a cost to the taxpayer of thousands of pounds, to a Tory grandee who spent thousands of pounds of public funds on his country estate before selling it.

A shadow minister claimed a £7,000 bedroom suite and a £2,200 television and “flipped” his second home, while a Labour election co-ordinator bought 16 bedsheets within the space of two months for a one-bedroom flat.

The MPs, who all backed the 2007 Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill introduced by David Maclean, the former Conservative chief whip, will face questions over their use of expenses and will come under pressure to return money.

Supporters of Mr Maclean’s Bill said they were acting to protect the confidentiality of constituents. Yet MPs opposing the Bill told the Commons repeatedly that its main impact would be to keep expenses secret. >>> By Patrick Hennessy and Melissa Kite | Saturday, May 16, 2009

Muslim Justice Minister Diddles British Taxpayer
Shahid Malik. Photo: Google Images
TIMESONLINE: Shahid Malik, the Justice Minister exposed as the biggest expenses claimant of all MPs, was forced to step down today to await the outcome of an inquiry into his living costs.

Downing Street said that Gordon Brown asked Sir Philip Mawer, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests, to investigate whether Mr Malik’s alleged benefit of a subsidised rent breached the ministerial code.

The announcement by No 10 came minutes after the Labour MP for Dewsbury had refused to apologise, offering instead to donate the cost of his 40ins flat-screen television to a local charity.

He said that his second-home allowance of £66,827 over three years was “one million per cent by the book” and insisted that he would not return any of the money to the taxpayer[.] Shahid Malik Stands Down as Justice Minister after PM Orders Inquiry into His Expenses >>> Philip Webster, Political Editor and Nico Hines | Friday, May 15, 2009

Sorry

High Class Welfare!
THE TELEGRAPH: Senior Conservatives have subsidised their country estates at taxpayers’ expense, with the upkeep of swimming pools, clearance of moats and even the salaries of domestic staff, all claimed on parliamentary expenses.

The Daily Telegraph discloses how Tory grandees have received tens of thousands of pounds to maintain manor houses and stately homes. One claimed successfully towards the cost of a full-time housekeeper with a salary package of £14,000 a year, along with a claim including £2,000 for clearing the moat surrounding his manor house. Another was allowed to claim for a “helipad” to be maintained.

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, was understood to be “appalled” by the latest allegations and was considering taking disciplinary action. Tories who have broken the rules on expenses could be sacked, Mr Cameron has suggested.

The disclosures will further alarm taxpayers and add to concern over the operation of the House of Commons fees office, which is supposed to police the parliamentary expenses system. MPs' Expenses: Paying Bills for Tory Grandees >>> By Robert Winnett, Deputy Political Editor | Tuesday, May 12, 2009

MAIL Online: MPs' EXPENSES: Lord Tebbit Defies Tories to Tell Voters: 'Don't Vote for ANY Party in European Elections'

Lord Tebbit. Photo courtesy of MailOnline
Lord Tebbit is risking expulsion from the Conservatives after urging voters not to back the party in next month's European elections.

The former Tory chairman said the vote gave anyone outraged by MPs' abuse of expenses an 'ideal opportunity' to send a message to all three main parties by not voting for any of them.

The call from a senior party grandee is an extraordinary challenge to David Cameron's authority in the run-up to the June 4 poll.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, 78-year-old Lord Tebbit said it was clear that Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs had been behaving like 'welfare junkies' addicted to abusing their Commons allowances.

'Local elections, the great British public should treat just as normal,' he said. 'But at the European elections, in my judgment they should send a very sharp message to the leaders of the three national parties by not voting for any of the national party candidates.'

Norman Tebbit, who was one of Margaret Thatcher's closest allies, refused to say which of the smaller parties he believed voters should back.

'I wouldn't seek to give any advice on that,' he said. 'But if there was an enormous fall in the vote for the major parties, the message might get through.' >>> By James Chapman | Tuesday, May 12, 2009