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Sounds even more serious than hitherto, and pointing in the direction that they have something very ‘Mysterious' to hide (CPS Statement regards Derek Conway!) From what has been reported regarding some expenses that Michael Martin, the Speaker in the Commons, has claimed, it is not surprising that he has appointed 'himself' to be 'in charge' of the investigation! It is also very interesting to note that, so far as I know, none of the parties have denied such accusations as made in the press. The Security ploy would seem to be being used as nothing other than a stumbling block to stop the investigation - which should go ahead, as it seems fairly obvious, from the antics they have been reported 'getting up to' - and seemingly for a very long a period now, probably running into many thousands of pounds simply for personal benefit, and for what seems to be way beyond the normal accepted 'expenses’ items! It is way beyond time for such activities to stop, and those colluding in such activity, as surely there must be, to ensure it is fully operational for the purpose required - should be seriously penalised - regardless of status! How can such a request for ‘disclosure’ of ‘allegedly’ honest expenses claims payments, being requested by those ‘footing the bill’, be considered as ‘unlawfully intrusive’ when it can only really be considered as a ‘Financial matter’ to ensure correctness applies? In any honest and trustworthy operation this surely would be automatic and common sense! Could it be that in their political life ‘our’ Politicians, having the facility of using Taxpayers funds, expect not to be subject to an Audit of ‘their’ accounts - it certainly is beginning to seem like that - and by the look of it, they are prepared to fight ‘Tooth and Nail’- at our expense of course, in their endeavour to achieve this position even moreso than they seem to enjoy at present! In such cases when ‘excuses - or reasons’ for non-compliance are being vigorously pursued, it is almost certain there is ‘wrongdoing probably going on’ and any ‘rot’ must be discovered and ‘cleared out!’ It appears that for such ‘legal action’ to be taken by the ‘defenders’- and at our cost, together with what seems to be an attitude to it all from many politicians that it is ‘of no matter’ (that is the false claims reported) and also seemingly a very lax attitude and little concern from the authorities that should be investigating, the whole set-up must be eyed with great suspicion! Nobody would go to all this trouble if everything was all ‘Above Board and within the rules!’ Sincere honesty and transparency must now take over; as it is extremely obvious that 'trust' has failed miserably and at great cost to the taxpayer!

So that's why the Lumpen Party is keeping LorfdFookd quiet the noo?

Sorry, That should be Lord Fooks, Lord of the Lies.

Surely all that is required is for MP's home addresses not to be included in any FOI disclosures regarding their expenses claims. This blocking attempt smacks of a desperate attempt to cover up greed and expense fiddling by many (not all) MP's. I hope it gets thrown out, as it deserves to be.

The Labour Party (fighting poverty, standing up for ordinary people) will make sure that the snouts-in-the-trough brigade don't manage a cover-up. Won't it?

This is really confusing. I can understand non publication or release of commercially sensitive documents, but we are talking here about the use of our money directly by our representatives. Open government is meant to be a bye-word in our democracy but more and more it appears that our elected representatives are seeking to be exempt from this principle. Time to have all accounts, quangos and the like open to public scrutiny, not just when requested by the FOI requests!!

Liars, thieves, con artists, snouts in innumerable troughs,self-seeking blackguards and guardesses. And that's just the cabinet.

I wonder if 'Wendy' would agree, in this particular matter, for it to be classified as another 'Bring it On’ - right on, and soon! I can well imagine that many, probably a great many of our Trustworthy and 'allegedly' Honest elected representatives will be trembling in their boots over this matter! But need they have any fear, as, as we have seen, not only recently but also in the far past, they seem to have the appropriate authorities well and truly 'in their pockets' and all are possibly involved in the 'collusion' that must exist to enable what has been reported in the Press about their amazing ‘arranged expenses claims’ activities, and for it all to be so successful! It must be stopped, prosecutions for wrong doing must be applied - and penalties, other than mere financial ones 'awarded’ in order to deter others joining the club!

[quote][bold]Wallace[/bold] wrote: Surely all that is required is for MP's home addresses not to be included in any FOI disclosures regarding their expenses claims. This blocking attempt smacks of a desperate attempt to cover up greed and expense fiddling by many (not all) MP's. I hope it gets thrown out, as it deserves to be.[/quote] WALLACE Says it all sir. 100% correct...let's forget the EXACT address, and divulge all else. What's the problem then??

It would help the debate along if our M.Ps. were to step forward and say " I am... and I represent the voters of.....and I wish it known I have not abused the system... I have claimed so and I have claimed thus and if what I did was wrong it was an honest mistake and I will make restitution". "See, here are all the facts and figures ... this is what I have claimed and see, this is what I spent it on". "I have nothing to hide".

Why is there such an explosion of silence from the authorities in all this expenses claims procedures? The CPS, insofar as Derek Conway MP and the little game he (and seemingly many others!) is playing with this 'gimmick' of 'allegedly' employing family and friends as part of their staff, yet the CPS say its all a mystery and they would not be successful in getting a prosecution! Is this an admission by the CPS of their own incompetence, or are they also part of what must be massive 'arrangement' in collusion, probably with many others, for these Politicians to achieve so much 'easy' success to extract thousands of pounds of taxpayers funds for their personal gain. They are now fighting like mad to stop divulgence of their ‘expenses’ details in this ‘allegedly - nothing to hide’ activity! A very strange procedure by anyone who is / has been considered trustworthy and honest - or have the taxpayers got that bit wrong? If it's true, and they are classifying themselves as 'Employers' and engaging staff accordingly, this must surely, by Law, involve them in keeping financial records regarding salaries/wages paid, collection / deductions for NI contributions, Tax etc. for submission and settlement to the appropriate Government departments as required, and such transaction should show up as official entries in their own 'business' accounts! All these procedures - if they are carried out as they should be, and everything accounted for properly should not prove to be anything difficult to establish. If these procedures have not been attended to as they should have been, then surely this will be enough evidence to prove some guilt and it would seem, on the face of it, a successful prosecution would be achieved and suitable penalties could be awarded accordingly! Pressure of work and all that twaddle cannot surely be an acceptable excuse for non-compliance of this duty - no matter who! It will of course, mean someone in authority raising their backsides and motivating themselves 'To go and seek out if correct procedures have - are being followed, as they should be! Not too difficult an operation for a concerned party, and who knows, things may be discovered to surprise everybody! Go on 'Give it a Go' - the taxpayer deserves it, and with the comments being made about these allegedly 'false claims' - with so far 'No Denials', any organisation worth its salt, and proud of its activities and competence, whose main 'speciality' is mostly to do with 'Right or Wrong', would, I thought, have its noses buried in the bookwork many weeks ago! It does appear, especially with what seems an apparent lack of concern by those who can investigate these matters, that the general opinion of many, probably most people (taxpayers!) - ‘Rightly or Wrongly’ - the overall picture is one of massive corruption and collusion, where none should exist whatsoever! However, if it’s as bad as it seems with all concerned and / or involved - to convince the Public that all is ‘above board’ will be a tremendous mountain to climb, and may never be achieved - ever, especially considering the current Public attitude to, and the seemingly very dubious activities of the current Political set in our midst!