David Cameron blames Gordon Brown for expenses scandal as Labour kicks out three MPs

Published on Monday 8 February 2010 21:40

DAVID Cameron has launched a highly personal attack on Gordon Brown, claiming the Prime Minister is the "road block" to political reform.

• David Cameron launched a personal attack on Gordon Brown's handling of the expenses affair yesterday in a speech at the University of East London. Picture: Getty Images

The keynote speech at the University of East London yesterday was widely seen as an attempt by the Conservative leader to regain the political initiative after a "wobble" over the past few weeks had seen his party's poll lead over Labour shrink. The main focus of Mr Cameron's speech was the Prime Minister, whom he accused of "dithering" and being out of touch over expenses.

He pointed out that it was only yesterday that the whip was withdrawn from the three Labour MPs facing trial – Livingston MP Jim Devine, David Chaytor and Elliot Morley – even though they have all been banned from standing again.

Mr Cameron said: "How Gordon Brown can claim to be a reformer with a straight face I just don't know.

"The character of his government – secretive, power-hoarding, controlling – is his character. Just as he's the roadblock to public-service reform, he's the roadblock to political reform."

Mr Cameron called for reforms to avoid a future expenses scandal. He demanded that any "loophole" on parliamentary privilege that would allow MPs to escape prosecution should be closed.

This followed a suggestion by the three MPs that they might try to use the ancient laws of parliamentary privilege to avoid being prosecuted for alleged fraud through their expenses.

Tory peer Lord Hanningfield is also facing prosecution.

Mr Cameron highlighted the "coming danger" of corporate lobbying as the next big scandal to envelope Westminster.

He claimed there was a "far- too-cosy relationship" between big business and politicians, and he said that Conservative ministers would be banned from taking corporate jobs for two years after leaving office.

He said lobbying was now a 2 billion industry and pointed to research by the Hansard Society that estimated some MPs were approached more than 100 times a week by people seeking to influence policy.

"We don't know who is meeting whom. We don't know whether any favours are being exchanged. We don't know which outside interests are wielding unhealthy influence," Mr Cameron said. "This isn't a minor issue. Commercial interests – not to mention government contracts – worth hundreds of billions of pounds are potentially at stake."

Groups that have been calling for greater transparency on the deals which are believed to go on in the corridors of power want Mr Cameron to go further.

David Miller, of the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency, said: "If they are serious about listening to ordinary people, the Conservative Party must pledge to introduce a mandatory register of lobbyists."

Labour accused Mr Cameron of "breathtaking hypocrisy".

Justice Secretary Jack Straw said: "Just a few months ago the Conservative Party were actively sabotaging all efforts to exclude the ambit of parliamentary privilege from the new laws on MPs' expenses.

"Now Mr Cameron's lust for an easy headline has provoked yet another bout of rank opportunism."

Nowhere has the Conservative "wobble" been felt more than in Scotland.

A TNS-BMRB poll has shown that the Tories' support is stuck at 18 per cent north of the Border for Westminster votes and 13 per cent for Holyrood.

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