My shirt is hairier than yours

[El Gordo]

Good reply -- I expect a rougher ride from someone soon.

Not sure if the cat food was a real example, but agreed that this would be excessive. But there was an MP on the radio this morning for instance, getting a hard time from Nicky Campbell because he had claimed for the cost of buying an iron for his London house. As the MP pointed out, what's the alternative? Is he expected to carry an iron back and forward in his briefcase every time he goes back to his constituency? If they are allowed to rent or buy a London property then they have to equip the place reasonably.

As for things like gardening expenses and other claims that have come under scrutiny, you can well imagine how these come about. I can imagine new MPs, chatting to longer-toothed colleagues, asking for clarification on what the procedures are, and being told that they are allowed all sorts of things. If the system has allowed them to claim for gardening expenses, then so be it. Perhaps the system is wrong, rather than people who simply fit in with it. If I was an MP I would have done the same, once I'd asked around and found out what was allowed and what wasn't.

There is a definite line that shouldn't be crossed though. I suspect we'll see Elliot Morley in court, and very possibly in prison, for what appears to be a prima facie case of fraud. I offer no defence there, though I guess we should give him the courtesy of due process.

And I have a new ally -- David Aaronovitch whose writing in The Times and elsewhere I like. This is worth a read on 'Moatgate':

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment...268941.ece

And to bring running into the subject, he ran the FLM a couple of years ago, and wrote about it here:

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_...710370.ece