Found on British MPs' Expense Reports: Horse Manure, Porn Movies, Chocolate Santas and a Mole Hunter

Friday, May 8, 2009 9:49 AM

British members of Parliament are apparently using lax rules relating to their expense claims to pay for an interesting array of goods and services, according to files obtained by the Daily Telegraph. According to the AP:

Britain's Daily Telegraph published details of claims related to 13 ministers and offered examples of hundreds of other bills submitted by lawmakers to Parliamentary authorities.

The documents revealed how some lawmakers used lax regulations to wrack up hefty bills to pay for housing taxes and costs of furnishing homes, while others claimed for trivial amounts — including a packet of ginger snaps worth about $1, two cans of cat food and an ice cube tray.

One lawmaker claimed the cost of servicing the swimming pool of his country home, while another paid for a hunter to catch moles who'd invaded his garden, according to the newspaper.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown — then Britain's treasury chief — paid his brother Andrew 6,500 pounds ($9,800) for cleaning services between 2004 and 2006. Brown's office said the leader's brother had handled payments for a cleaner the two men shared.

Porn movies, horse manure and cat food also made the expense reports. However, while these expenses draw the ire of taxpayers, lax Parliamentary rules may be to blame:

Under Parliament's rules, legislators can claim expenses for a second home and expenses incurred when staying away overnight from their main home. They can claim rent, for example, or mortgage payments and furnishings, such as drapes, carpets and electrical goods.

The price for such furnishings were colloquially known as the "John Lewis list," named after an upscale British department store chain. The list is being axed under reforms of the system currently under discussion.

Lawmakers had long refused to offer receipt by receipt breakdowns of their claims for public money, until a ruling under freedom of information laws ordered them to make the details known.

About 2 million receipts for claims by legislators will be published in July under the ruling, but the newspaper said Friday it had obtained the material ahead of its planned release.

Members of the public complain the expenses system is too generous, isn't independently audited and follows rules drafted by the lawmakers themselves.

Our friends at the Taxpayers Alliance, who have long fought against wasteful government spending and for greater transparency, think the release of the file underscore the need for reform of the rules for the sake of taxpayers:

"There can be no greater proof of the need for urgent and wholesale reform of MPs' expenses than the fact that so many people at the top of government have been making such dubious claims," says Matthew Elliott, executive director of the group.

We're following these developments with great interest, as there seems to be momentum building for greater disclosure of government finances in the U.K. Just at the end of last month, David Cameron, leader of the Tory Party, vowed that under his government, all expenditures over the amount of£25,000 would be posted online in a searchable public database, and he referenced the Missouri Accountability Portal as a model.

Tags: Transparency | Comments (0)

Add a commentYour email address will not be displayed but will be added to our contact database. If you do not wish us to contact you, please leave that field blank.