Commons Must 'Disclose Expenses', High Court Rules

The House of Commons must disclose information on MP's expenses, it has been ruled today.

MP's had challenged the Information Tribunal's "unlawfully intrusive" demand into a "detailed breakdown" of MP's additional costs allowance (ACA) which includes second homes and location costs.

The Commons also tried to overturn the Tribunal's decision that MP's addresses should be divulged on the grounds that they should be kept secret "for special security reasons".

The Freedom of Information (FOI) request asked for a "receipt-by-receipt" breakdown of expenses for 14 MPs and former MPs including Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Tory Leader David Cameron.

Sir Igor Judge, Lord Justice Latham and Mr Justice Blake have dismissed the challenge however and said that they would not interfere with the Tribunal's decision.

MP's have come under fire recently following publication of a list of household items MP's can buy under their £23,000 ACA, which included 10,000 kitchens and £6,000 bathrooms.

It has emerged that Commons Speaker Michael Martin's wife claimed £4,139 on taxis which were "largely for shopping trips".

The Commons have been ordered to pay £33,500 in costs.

The decision has been welcomed by the Chief Executive of the TaxPayers's Alliance, Matthew Elliott, who said that it is "a victory for taxpayers and democracy in Britain".

Campaign Director for the TaxPayer's Alliance said: "It's simple, really - it's our Parliament, they are our MPs and it's our money. Taxpayers have a right to know how their representatives are spending taxpayers' cash.

"Releasing this information would be a great step not only in terms of accountability and transparency but also for the standing of Parliament in the public's eyes."

The Commons has until Tuesday to appeal the decision. Expense details must be revealed by next Friday.

The Freedom of Information Act came into force at the beginning of 2005. Its deals with access to official information.

(DS)