MPs' expenses probe to be televised
Tuesday, 7 April 2009 12:00 AM
By politics.co.uk staff
The inquiry into MPs' allowances is to be televised while it conducts its review.
The move comes as emotions run high in parliament, with MPs increasingly convinced the drip-feed of revelations could fundamentally undermine parliamentary democracy.
This weekend chancellor Alistair Darling and defence secretary Geoff Hoon joined home secretary Jacqui Smith and employment minister Tony McNulty in being implicated in the controversy over second home allowance.
Both Mr Hoon and Mr Darling claimed for second homes while renting out their London flat and living in government buildings at taxpayer expense.
The concern became severe enough for Gordon Brown to bring forward the inquiry after objections that it would only conclude after the general election.
In now appears that chairman Sir Christopher Kelly's Committee on Standards in Public Life review will be filmed so the process can become as democratic as possible.
The second home allowance is designed to allow MPs from outside of London to attend parliament while also doing work in their constituency.
Leyton and Wanstead MP Harry Cohen is currently being investigated by the parliamentary watchdog for claiming costs on his east London home while listing a house in Essex as his main residence.
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