THE long-awaited official publication of Oxfordshire MPs’ expenses yesterday drew complaints from a former sleaze watchdog who said too many details had been censored.
As MPs’ claims for their second homes, office costs and communications expenditure were placed on Parliament’s website early yesterday morning, it became apparent that many details — including which home an MP was claiming for — had been blacked out.
Such details have been instrumental in revelations about MPs “flipping” the designation of their second home to enable them to carry out improvements on more than one property at the taxpayers’ expense.
The revelations, many of which appeared in The Daily Telegraph, which obtained a leaked, uncensored copy of all MPs’ claims several weeks ago, have prompted several MPs to repay money or stand down at the next election.
The Commons authorities, which published the claims after a four-year Freedom of Information battle, have argued “redactions” are necessary to protect the private details of MPs and their staff.
But the former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, Sir Alistair Graham, said too much information was still being withheld from the public and predicted more political casualties as further abuses came to light.
He said: “I am against the sort of redaction and censorship which has clearly taken place. I don’t think we are at the end of this story at all. We may not even be at the beginning of the end. I think this is going to run and run.”
All of Oxfordshire’s MPs, including Oxford East’s Andrew Smith, said they had not flipped their properties to maximise the money coming in from the taxpayer.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here