377 MPs have official credit cards suspended by expenses watchdog
HUNDREDS of MPs including Jeremy Corbyn, Boris Johnson and nine Cabinet ministers have had official credit cards suspended by the expenses watchdog.
They are among the 377 MPs to be penalised since 2015 for breaking the rules by not providing receipts or failing to pay back ineligible expenses.
The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority tried to prevent the disclosure, saying it would have a ‘chilling effect’ on its relations with MPs. But a former High Court judge reversed the decision, saying that the risk of embarrassing MPs was no reason to keep the information secret.
Freedom of information requests from the Daily Telegraph show that the rules established in the wake of the expenses scandal – which erupted ten years ago today – are being routinely broken by politicians who still show a ‘lax and casual’ attitude to the way they account for taxpayers’ money.
The amount taxpayers have to pay for MPs’ allowances has increased by 22 per cent since 2009. Last year the expenses bill was £117.4million – equivalent to £180,000 per MP.
Mr Corbyn has apparently had his card suspended twice – in August 2015 and September 2017. Mr Johnson, the former foreign secretary, has had his suspended once.
Since the 2015 election, 377 MPs have had their cards suspended, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show. Many are repeat offenders – including Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd.
Other ministers, or MPs who sit in Cabinet meetings, to have had their cards suspended include Rory Stewart and David Mundell.
Sir Alistair Graham, former chairman of the committee on standards in public life, said it shows something is ‘fundamentally wrong’ with the expenses system. A spokesman for Miss Rudd said: ‘Some payment deadlines were missed by the member of staff responsible for these matters. These issues were subsequently resolved.’ The Labour Party said: ‘Our MPs’ offices rectify all such administrative issues as soon as they’re identified.’