Expenses: 'Parliament will be a better place, society will be a better place'

Published on Saturday 23 May 2009 18:59

THE former SAS officer behind the exposure of MPs' expenses yesterday defended his actions saying that the Westminster allowances system had been "exposed to its rotten core".

John Wick, who commanded a British anti-terrorism team during his ten-year military career, said he decided to leak the information, because the public was frustrated in its attempts to learn about MPs' expense claims and that he had "no regrets".

Wick was yesterday confirmed as the individual behind the leaking of the information to the Daily Telegraph, which for more than two weeks has been publishing details of MPs using a complacent Westminster expenses system that allowed the abuse of public money.

Yesterday, Wick said: "We've reached a stage in society where they want to know everything about us – I think we are entitled to know about them."

Wick served in the special forces in the 1970s, trained at Sandhurst and served in the Parachute Regiment. He now heads a corporate intelligence company which specialises in the release of hostages in war zones.

Michael Martin, who resigned as Speaker last week, told MPs that the Commons had referred the matter of the leaked information to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, causing anger among members, including

Kate Hoey, the MP for Vauxhall, who said calling in the police was an "awful waste of money".

The Metropolitan Police announced shortly before Martin's resignation that they would not investigate the leaking of the expense reports to the press.

Wick, a Conservative supporter, insisted the information was not stolen

and said the expenses furore would lead to an improved parliament.

"Parliament will be a better place, society will be a better place," he said. "Sometimes a marker has to be put down."