Top Tories fail to reveal expenses
Thursday, 17 July 2008 12:00 AM
Two senior figures in the Tory party, Ann and Nicholas Winterton, are on the list of seven MPs who failed to declare their expenses to David Cameron.
The couple - both backbenchers but prominent figures in the party due to their outspoken views - were recently slapped on the wrist by the parliamentary standards watchdog for claiming rent on a flat they already owned.
The 'right to know' forms which the Wintertons failed to fill in are David Cameron's latest attempt to draw a line under the succession of financial allegations which have bedevilled the party over the last few months.
All frontbench MPs and almost every Tory backbencher completed the form on time.
The information requires MPs to specify whether they employ family members and a breakdown of office costs and expenditures.
"We are the first party to demand this information from our members, and our MPs are voluntarily revealing a much more detailed breakdown of their expenses than official rules require them to," Mr Cameron said when he introduced the forms.
Other Tories who failed to complete the form include Anthony Steen, Christopher Chope, diehard eurosceptic Bill Cash, John Stanley and Paul Beresford, who cannot publish any information because he claims no expenses.
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