Scotland Yard announces MPs expenses investigation
While the facts are still shrouded in mystery it has been revealed that Scotland Yard has opened up a number of investigations into individual MPs expenses. Even though there were initially suggestions that the authorities were unable to take action against many MPs alleged to have "abused" the expenses system, today's announcement has been well received by taxpayers up and down the country.
Yesterday's release of specific expense requests appears to have muddied the water yet more with great areas of individual expense claims blacked out for "security reasons". There is even a suggestion that the Parliamentary authority could be taken back to the High Court having been seen by many to have failed to comply with an earlier ruling. Whether we will see any further official release of more detailed expense claims remains to be seen but The Telegraph newspaper has already suggested it will publish all invoices in full over the coming weeks.
Many taxpayers have been dismayed at the fact that the authorities appear unable or unwilling to even contemplate serious criminal investigations against a flurry of MPs who have allegedly abused the system. Whether today's announcement is enough to curtail public anger in the short to medium term remains to be seen but there are still a lot of questions to answer.
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