A total of £1.2 Million was falsely claimed for items such as trouser presses, decorative trees, tea-towels, gardening manure, massage chairs, etc etc – all funded ( unknowingly ) by the UK taxpayers.
As a result of the official inquiry - backed up in some cases by police investigations - it is likely that the bulk of the cash will now be repaid by the 350 politicians involved.
The inquiry cost £1.1 Million – and was funded by . . . the UK taxpayers.
Update, as reported by the BBC:
Figures show the start-up cost for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority will be £6.6m.
Hat tip to twellve for spotting the revised figure.
oh, it's true!
ReplyDeletewe can only hope that it deters MPs from taking similar liberties with their expenses in the future...
I would think it would make more sense to have the penalty be payback + "court costs" as is done in some other situations - especially when public money is involved.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people are coming up with this point about the enquiry costing almost as much as it saved. This is completely irrelevant. If Parliament puts a stop to all the thieving, we will be saving hugely every year that goes by. Of course, they'll find some other way of ripping us off...
ReplyDeleteThought I'd share the most recent findings...
ReplyDeletehttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8509815.stm
Amazing. Post revised. Thank you.
ReplyDelete