The logical sommersaults surrounding the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill continue. The Tory MP David Maclean has proposed ammending the FOI Act so it basically exempts MP's from having to declare their expenses. This has the tacit support of New Labour, who have long argued that the maxim "Nothing to Hide, Nothing To Fear" should apply only to the public, not to politicians. As if to prove how embarassing MP's expenses claims can be, Mr Maclean recently bought a £3300 quad bike and got the taxpayer to fork out for it. Presumably he did this to demonstrate how much MP's can fiddle their expenses if they put their mind to it, and therefore how important it is to keep what they spend our money on secret. Mr Maclean has defended his toy purchase by saying it was "vital to help him get round the constinuency". This is up there with other great lame excuses from politicians after they've been caught out:
-Jeffrey Archer apparently gave that prostitue a stack of cash "to further her studies in biology and chemistry"
-Jonathan Aitken's bill at the Ritz Hilton was paid for by a Saudi Arms broker "As an act of Christian kindness"
-Richard Nixon authorised the Wartergate burglary as "A practical joke".
But now that it looks like the FOI ammendment will be going through so MP's can buy their perks in peace.
Taking Liberties is Myspace Featured Film
Which is nice of them. Lot's of people now want to be our friends - and some of them are not from Porn sites!
News item by Shami in the Telegraph.
And the comments underneath are definitely worth a read. Particularly the one that uses the civil liberties argument to try to repeal gun control laws.
And lots of mentions on blogs far and wide...
Bread and Circuses
Wordpress
Solo Passion
The Next Wave
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