General

British MPs’ expenses come under the microscope

From swimming pool repairs to tampons, the Daily Telegraph reveals the outrageous—and sometimes downright bizarre—filings

The Daily Telegraph appears to be in the midst of single-handedly bringing down the entire British parliament. On Friday, the conservative broadsheet began publishing the details of MPs’ secret expense claims—information for which it paid a rumoured six-figure fee—and they are explosive: thousands of pounds to clean out a moat on a country estate, a couple of quid for a Tampax (from a male backbencher), swimming pool repairs. The list is endless, and no party has been spared in the paper’s investigation. Today’s developments: Labour has suspended a former cabinet minister for claiming expenses for a mortgage that never existed, and the senior Parliamentary lieutenant to Tory leader David Cameron has resigned his party role.

Telegraph.co.uk

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