Shona Ghosh

MP’s expenses roundup

Weeks like this make me remember why I want to be a journalist. The British press has outdone itself in the MP’s expenses coverage. The Telegraph not only nailed the splash but provided a nice gallery of objects claimed on expenses, from iced gem biscuits to multiple houses.

The political response is hilarious, at first glance. Tragic, at the second. The immediate response to the leaks has been ‘whodunnit?’ because, rather conveniently, revealing whether Phil Woolas bought his wife a shirt with public money is information ‘held in confidence’. You can see the letter hinting at a police investigation at Guido Fawkes’ blog.

Publicly, MP’s sought to defend themselves over individual claims while spectacularly missing the point. It’s no longer about the details, but the disillusioning whole. It’s the snouts-in-the-trough mentality while the rest of us are being lectured to cut down our costs of living.

Meanwhile, the opposition has remained strangely quiet because…well, they’re all in on it. David Cameron has been quick to issue a general condemnation and assure the public the Tories’ expenses will surface sooner or later, but it’s not going to be pretty either.

Stuff to read and listen to:

8/5 - Telegraph: the original splash and follow-up material.

BBC Today programme: Harriet Harman floundering. Unfortunately I can’t find a clip of presenter Evan Davis reading the watery Tory response, saying that it was a ‘live issue’ and they wanted to see ‘how it would play out’, but that was gold too.

BBC online – MPs bite back, in a classic example of missing the point, and a nice summary of what is actually within the rules.

And finally…

Major kudos to journalist/Freedom of Information campaigner/superhero Heather Brooke. Tireless in her efforts to achieve greater political openness, including MPs expenses, she has been credited by Guido Fawkes for her part in this. She even inspired this humble FOI request….

Update: Even my ethics tutor Roy Greenslade acknowledges what a total legend she is.

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