MPs to censor their own expenses
MPs are to set to begin censoring their own expenses records before they are published.
Members will this week be shown copies of thousands of receipts and other documents due to be published under the Freedom of Information Act.
They will be invited to redact the documents, blacking out information they do not want to disclose.
The Commons is spending thousands of pounds paying security-cleared specialist contractors to remove any sensitive information like bank details from receipts.
But even after the contractors have vetted the documents, MPs will review their claims and make further changes of their own.
Harriet Harman, the Leader of the Commons, says the redaction process is harmless and necessary to preserve the privacy of MPs.
By allowing MPs to censor their own receipts will be like going to the laundry with dirty washing and then hanging out clean clothes to show to the neighbours. Save for bank details like credit card numbers, everything else must be disclosed. For example, whether MPs were out shopping when they should have been working. And, it will be interesting to see how many others have submitted claims for pornography etc.
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
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