MPs to be let off FOI
Friday, 16 January 2009 12:00 AM
By Laura Miller
MPs and peers have won their battle to keep their expense claims for the last three years secret.
The retrospective exemption, expected to be confirmed next week, will give parliament the power to void all pending freedom of information requests regarding members' reimbursement claims, as well as blocking any future ones.
The decision to put ministers and peers of the realm in a special category will deal a heavy blow to journalists and FOI activists, who have fought to force ministers to reveal how much taxpayers' money they spend on travel, staffing and furnishing second homes.
Commenting on the move Angus MacNeil, SNP Shadow Spokesperson for the Scotland Office, said, "Westminster government should follow the Scottish Parliament's example and publish expenses on a quarterly basis.
"MPs are public servants, paid for by the public purse. Taxpayers are entitled to know what their money is being spent on."
Reports suggest Harriet Harman, leader of the house, pushed for the change after intense lobbying by the Conservative 1922 backbench committee and the parliamentary Labour party committee to stop the release of the information.
Both Labour and the Tories have faced criticism over expenses. An FOI request last year revealed Margaret Beckett, now the housing minister, had claimed almost £2000 for plants and garden furniture for her Derbyshire constituency home.
English and Welsh ministers will now be the UK's only paid public officials not required to disclose the full details of their expenses and allowances.
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