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| Britain |
| UK ministers claim for expenses from porn to cookies |
| 2009-05-09 |
| [Mail and Globe] Porn movies. Horse manure. A chocolate Santa Claus. Expense claims by British lawmakers to pay for an array of items were exposed by a newspaper on Friday, stoking public anger over lawmaker excess amid the global recession. Britain's Daily Telegraph published details of claims related to 13 ministers and offered examples of hundreds of other bills submitted by lawmakers to Parliamentary authorities. The documents revealed how some lawmakers used lax regulations to wrack up hefty bills to pay for housing taxes and costs of furnishing homes, while others claimed for trivial amounts -- including a packet of ginger snaps worth about $1, two cans of cat food and an ice cube tray. One lawmaker claimed the cost of servicing the swimming pool of his country home, while another paid for a hunter to catch moles that had invaded his garden, according to the newspaper. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown -- then Britain's treasury chief -- paid his brother Andrew £6 500 ($9 800) for cleaning services between 2004 and 2006. Brown's office said the leader's brother had handled payments for a cleaner the two men shared. Figures released to Parliament show that the 646 House of Commons legislators claimed £93-million ($134 million) in allowances and expenses last year. But lawmakers had long refused to offer receipt by receipt breakdowns of their claims for public money, until a ruling under freedom of information laws ordered them to make the details known. About two million receipts for claims by legislators will be published in July under the ruling, but the newspaper said on Friday it had obtained the material ahead of its planned release. Members of the public complain the expenses system is too generous, isn't independently audited and follows rules drafted by the lawmakers themselves. |
| Posted by:Fred |