Filling in the blanks
Here are some of the discrepancies between the redacted information released today by the Commons about Gordon Brown's expenses and more extensive material they have already disclosed last year.
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The first example relates to his Sky TV subscription which seems to have become a secret.
Today:
As disclosed in May 2008:
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The second relates to the fact that one of his claims was made early for costs in the next financial year - this has been blacked out in today's material.
Today:
As disclosed in May 2008:
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Update 1240: A Commons spokeswoman has told the BBC that the Sky subscription information was removed since the fees office was allowed to take out all information on suppliers of services to MPs' homes in case the publication of that information helped to identify an MP's address or made it easier to breach security.
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Just lets concentrate on the Telegraph info for the fuller version. -Did anyone REALLY believe that parliament would act properly? They all have to be dragged screaming to an early election and then its OUR fault if they aren't kicked out where deserved. Words cannot describe the despicable attitude of all concerned. But we mustn't weary of this as it's down to the electorate to see this out.
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So much for openness and transparency. You really cannot believe anything MPs say anymore. It is within their power to allow more openness but I guess they still have skeletons to hide. Shame on them.
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I'm more concerned that Gordon Brown, or a member of his staff, clearly doesn't realise that there are only 30 days in June!
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Easy to find his house then, just look for the only one with a Sky dish in North Qeensferry!
We also know he has a phone line,electricity, a TV and hopefully a TV licence too. See what happens when they let slip one little bit of information about Sky.
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They're doing more harm than good by releasing this overly-redacted material. Take the Sky TV example; I have no problem at all with MPs claiming that access to Sky is necessary to do their job (news, etc.), but when this is redacted from material such as this, I do have a problem.
Looking through the receipts of my own MP, I noted that the blanking seems entirely random, and inconsistent. Train tickets on adjacent pages have different details visible, with some showing what method of payment was used, others not, and so on.
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It's interesting that they have not blacked out the little grids of black dots on MPs utility bills. These grids are like barcodes that include the customer's account number. There are utilities on the web that can decode these grids into their plain-text form. If they blank out "Sky TV" for security measures, what about these grids?
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Interesting that in the breakdown of cleaning expenses in the first example, we see a claim (from someone who says he is on top of the nations finances) that doesn't add up! I'm sure that 723+520+60 = 1303. Is this another "honest mistake"?
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It's really interesting how no one noticed that 723.97 + 520 + 60 equals 1303.97 and NOT 1403.90....
Duh!
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My own MP's expenses had "expense category" blacked out. That seems to be taking it a bit far.
There's also a great irony here, in that when I posted about something that she had claimed for on the BBC Have Your Say page about what your MP claimed for, my comment was rejected. Seems that we live a in society where censorship is rife.
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They STILL don't get it, do they. A general election now, please.
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I note that Gordon Brown claimed that 723 + 520 + 60 = 1403 twice, but did also claim that it correctly totalled 1303 as well in previous periods (Q4 2005). If this was not picked up by the fees office then they are pretty sloppy workers. Because of the censorship, there is no clue as to whether or not the claims were corrected, so it looks like GB has over claimed £200 which is breaking the rules and therefore he should be punished like all other transgressors.
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Why do you use the word redacted? Why not use censored?
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Oh, and I am still amazed that a mad man is still the PM.
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I have only just started looking through my MP's expenses, but already I am very surprised at some of the claims. Some clearly show our MP's are not very good at hunting a bargain, and others are simply ridiculous.
However there are a few things I don't understand - can anyone help me?
What is an "Mp's annual report" and why does it cost the taxpayer £2500 each year?
Similarly what is a 'Westminster report' and why does that cost the tax payer £1500?
Does anyone know anything about CMITS? It seems to be a piece of software 'written by MP's for MP's' which is simply a glorified computer filing system and basic address database.
I suspect many MP's are using this software, however it's license cost (about £1800) and a years support (£500) do not seem to be good value considering this same function could be performed by Outlook and a well managed file structure on your PC (and of course someone who knows how to operate a computer)
I have also been unable to track down any director information, which is vital as I am discovering that most suppliers seem to have a link to Parliment and usually have an ex-civil servant or ex-MP on the board. Which again shows how MP's are supporting each other even after they have left the service!
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What I find most depressing/hilarious is the venality of some MPs.
Some like Kaufmann claim they have OCD to explain away their £8500 TV, and at the opposite end of the spectrum but equally risible is Jeremy Hunt's handwritten claim for a 1p telephone call
Who on Earth would bother with this ?
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Is it just me or has Gordon Brown submitted a quotation as an invoice and got paid for it? It's hard to tell with so much alteration and censoring
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Mr Patrick Mcloughlin - West Derbyshire 15-12-04 - Ladies Leather Handbag £44.99 .........exactly what part of his parliamentary duties needed a handbag?
David Milliband has claimed 50% discount for "empty property" for the last 4 years but still charging everything to it. So how can that be his second home?
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jolo13 - there's more to Milliband's claims than meets the eye.
Anyone know who I can write to about this?
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#14: I think that the MP's annual report is essentially a piece of party political propaganda. At least I know my own MP's report is.
As such, isn't it against the rules to claim for it? I thought claiming for party political activities was against the rules?
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Er, is it not obvious where Gordon Brown lives...?
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Ayatollah Khamenei, just called the British government "treacherous".
How very perceptive!
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