Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Uk Debate Mk 2, the UK's liveliest political and social debate site.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
MPs to escape investigations over alleged expenses abuse after paperwork 'destroyed'; Possible evidence of wrondoing to be destroyed after 3 years
Topic Started: Nov 5 2014, 03:56 PM (87 Views)
Boxter
Member Avatar
Regular Member
[ *  *  * ]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/mps-to-escape-investigations-over-alleged-expenses-abuse-after-paperwork-destroyed-9834575.html
Posted Image
MPs accused of abusing parliamentary expenses will be harder to investigate under a new system after House of Commons officials "destroyed" paperwork relating to their claims, it has been revealed.

Commons Speaker John Bercow has been accused of heading a new cover-up following the destruction of records relating to claims made before 2010, when a new policy of disposing records after three years was introduced in the wake of the expenses scandal, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Members of the public wrote to the parliamentary standards commissioner Kathryn Hudson asking her to investigate claims made by their MP dating back to 2004 to which she claimed that paperwork no longer existed.

This now means that "cold case" investigations – which have seen the resignation of Culture Secretary Maria Miller after she was found to have wrongly claimed tens of thousands of pounds in mortgage payments between 2005 and 2009 – could be far more difficult in future.
In pictures: Not-so virtuous MPs

Ms Miller also came under fire for making £1 million profit from selling the five-bedroom Victorian house in Wimbledon, south west London, that she bought with her husband for £234,000 with a 90 per cent mortgage in 1996 and subsequently paid for with the financial benefits of MPs' second home allowances.

Ms Hudson had been contacted by three Tory activists in the Isle of Wight, asking her to investigate claims made by local Conservative MP Andrew Turner between 2004 and 2010.

Mr Turner said that his claims had been audited and found to be in compliance with the rules at the time.
Read more:
MPs' expenses scandal: the timeline
Maria Miller expenses scandal 'damaging Tory party'
£3.6m taxpayers' money spent on renting party offices

But the complainant, David Pugh, received a letter from Ms Hudson saying: "All records relating to expenses claims before 2010 have now been destroyed. No unredacted information is now available here nor any notes of conversations or advice given to Mr Turner which might establish the facts."

Maria Miller resigned after it was revealed that she made £1 million property profit with help of expenses

She also said that half the period covered by their complaint fell outside the seven-year limit for investigation.

A Commons spokesman said that records of MPs' expenses claims were destroyed after three years in order to to comply with data protection laws under the House's authorised records disposal practice (ARDP). However, the pay, discipline and sickness records of Commons staff are kept until their 100th birthday and health and safety documents are kept for 40 years.

"The retention period for general financial data, of which Members' expenses is a sub-set, is three years after the current financial year finishes. The long-standing policy on retention of MPs' expenses records was originally agreed by the Members Estimate Committee (MEC)," the spokesman said.

"In accordance with the ARDP, the disposal of records relating to Members' expenses claims pre-2010 was carried out on a routine basis at various times each year up to 2014, four years after the House of Commons' oversight of the MPs' expenses arrangements finished."

Labour MP John Mann, expressed concern about the move and said he would be tabling a question asking Mr Bercow to explain what had happened.

"It sounds like MPs trying to protect MPs again. It will make the public very suspicious of what the motive is. The old gentlemen's club is resurrecting itself," he said.
Edited by Boxter, Nov 5 2014, 07:33 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Alberich
Member Avatar
Alberich
[ *  *  * ]
We are basically becoming conditioned to this sort of thing. The general reaction will be......"there they go...at it again....one rule for them and one for us"; but nothing will happen. By the way, whatever happened to that inquiry into Blair's Iraq war? Will it EVER see the light of day?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
RJD
Member Avatar
Prudence and Thrift
[ *  *  *  * ]
Alberich
Nov 5 2014, 04:03 PM
We are basically becoming conditioned to this sort of thing. The general reaction will be......"there they go...at it again....one rule for them and one for us"; but nothing will happen. By the way, whatever happened to that inquiry into Blair's Iraq war? Will it EVER see the light of day?
MPs no longer disappoint as our expectations of them are now at an all time low.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Boxter
Member Avatar
Regular Member
[ *  *  * ]
Ahh but have you forgotten guys WERE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Tigger
Senior Member
[ *  *  *  * ]
Boxter
Nov 5 2014, 09:12 PM
Ahh but have you forgotten guys WERE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!
We'll all be in something if your hero's ever get their hands on power. ;-)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
AndyK
Senior Member
[ *  *  *  * ]
That's quite unfortunate, probably an accident.

I wonder what would happen if I tried that with the taxman, I mean the law is guided by precedence, isn't it?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Affa
Senior Member
[ *  *  *  * ]

They'd sooner take the flack for destroying the evidence rather than have that evidence revealed ........
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Pro Veritas
Upstanding Member
[ *  *  *  * ]
Affa
Nov 5 2014, 10:20 PM
They'd sooner take the flack for destroying the evidence rather than have that evidence revealed ........
This in and of itself should be sufficient proof of guilt.

All The Best
Online Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
RJD
Member Avatar
Prudence and Thrift
[ *  *  *  * ]
Boxter
Nov 5 2014, 09:12 PM
Ahh but have you forgotten guys WERE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!
Never ever were as the Poor by definition have nothing to contribution. As we have seen, relatively speaking and rightly so, the Poor have been protected whilst the rest have been squeezed.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Stan Still
Member Avatar
Regular Member
[ *  *  * ]
RJD
Nov 5 2014, 04:12 PM
Alberich
Nov 5 2014, 04:03 PM
We are basically becoming conditioned to this sort of thing. The general reaction will be......"there they go...at it again....one rule for them and one for us"; but nothing will happen. By the way, whatever happened to that inquiry into Blair's Iraq war? Will it EVER see the light of day?
MPs no longer disappoint as our expectations of them are now at an all time low.
Can't argue with that
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Boxter
Member Avatar
Regular Member
[ *  *  * ]
Quote:
 
We'll all be in something if your hero's ever get their hands on power.

Cameron Clegg & co have us up to our necks in that already.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Boxter
Member Avatar
Regular Member
[ *  *  * ]
The truth it seems will be the first casualty of this arrogant elitist establishment never mind war!
Edited by Boxter, Nov 6 2014, 09:01 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Tigger
Senior Member
[ *  *  *  * ]
RJD
Nov 6 2014, 08:06 AM
Boxter
Nov 5 2014, 09:12 PM
Ahh but have you forgotten guys WERE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER!
Never ever were as the Poor by definition have nothing to contribution. As we have seen, relatively speaking and rightly so, the Poor have been protected whilst the rest have been squeezed.
Meanwhile back on Planet Earth I got a nice tax cut a couple of years ago and the really wealthy are better off than in 2008.

Best get someone with a magic marker to apply "L" and "R" to any shoes or gloves you still own. ;-)
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Politics · Next Topic »
Add Reply