MPs' expenses: Brown commits to 'maximum transparency'

Published on Friday 19 June 2009 14:51

Gordon Brown renewed a commitment to "maximum exposure" of MPs' expense claims today, insisting the highly-criticised blacking out of details in yesterday's official publication was "part of the old system".

The heavily-edited version of the records, which meant many of the most controversial claims would not have been made public without a leak of an uncensored version, was attacked as a cover-up by campaigners.

But the Prime Minister, whose own claims were among those edited, insisted emergency reforms would ensure there would be no repeat of the practice in future.

"We are dealing with the problems that have arisen yesterday in the new proposals we are putting forward." he told reporters at a press conference after the EU summit in Brussels.

"The redacted expenses were part of the old system; that cannot be the new system. The old system is being swept aside by the changes that we are making and a new, far more transparent system, is being introduced.

"While ensuring that security issues are addressed, as they have to be, our first principle must be maximum transparency.

"That will be part of the new legislation to set up an independent parliamentary regulator to take all these issues out of the hands of MPs.

"MPs must be able to do their jobs of course but the public must be able to hold us properly to account."

He spoke as Tory leader David Cameron said he would push for the publication of claims from 2008/9 to be published "as quickly as possible and in an uncensored form".

Only strictly private information such as phone number and bank details should be redacted, he said.

"The heavily censored publication yesterday of MPs expenses did nothing to improve the reputation of Parliament," he said.

"My shadow cabinet are already publishing their current expense claims online. I have today asked them to include all significant correspondence and receipts.

"This is a large but necessary task. All MPs must explain their past errors and account for them. But I am determined that from this point on myself and my Shadow Cabinet will do all we can to be as transparent as possible.

"Only then can trust between the public and their politicians begin to be rebuilt."