Brown pledges tough line on expenses scandal

LONDON – Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged on Saturday to crack down on ministers who cheat their expenses as he attempted to restore trust in politics after more than a week of damaging revelations.

Brown warned that any ministers found guilty of breaching rules would be removed from their job.
‘The bottom line is that any MP who is found to have defied the rules will not be serving in my government,’ he wrote in an article for News of the World.
Brown said he was ‘appalled and angered’ by the revelations of the claims.
‘Appalled because at all times people should expect the highest standards from people in public life. Angered because I was brought up to believe that you did the right thing – and that trust, integrity and honesty are the most precious assets of all.’
He went on: ‘I want to assure every citizen of my commitment to a complete cleanup of the system – that wherever and whenever immediate disciplinary action is required I will take it.’
The claims by lawmakers of all parties detailed over the past week by the Daily Telegraph range from tens of thousands of pounds to cover home loans to bills for clearing moats, for luxury televisions and even for a massage chair.
A member of Brown’s Labour Party, David Chaytor, became the latest casualty of the scandal when he was suspended by the party’s parliamentary grouping on Saturday.
The Telegraph alleged he had claimed nearly 13 000 pounds for interest on a home loan that had already been paid off.
Chaytor attributed the claim for his London flat to an ‘unforgivable error’ and promised to repay the money.
A panel of lawyers and senior officers from London’s Metropolitan Police Service are expected to meet next week to discuss whether to launch a criminal investigation into some of the allegations.
– Nampa-AFP