The news that the Lord’s have knocked back the Commons proposal to limit the scope of the Freedom of Information Act is not only a victory for accountability, but also a slap in the face for those MP’s who thought they could put themselves above the law. Many of them will have gone to bed last night a little hot under the collar and will therefore not appreciate the news this morning that the Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas, is also calling them to account.
In September 2005 Thomas asked for detailed figures on MP’s expenditure that the Commons had up until now refused to give to journalists who had made FoI requests. As Commissioner, he wanted to see if they should be in the public domain. The Commons had the audacity to ignore his request, and in June 2006 he demanded the information be sent to him immediately (July 2006) After the lengthy time 10 months, he has finally decided that this information cannot be legally withheld. So what new offerings can we expect from the Commons gravy train? Well here’s a list of expenses that MP’s can no longer withhold:
- Related mortgages
- Hotel expenditures
- Food
- Service Charges
- Utilities
- Telecom Bills
- Furnishings
- Cleaning
- Insurance
- Security
Thomas has deemed correctly that if an MP claims for any of these items, the public has a right to know how much. The Commons authority intends to appeal against the decision, so we can expect a lot of huffing and puffing over the next few months about civil liberty intrusions etc, but lets face it, the public now find their lives under constant scrutiny, so why shouldn’t MP’s?
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