Kelly miffed by MPs' expenses snub

Nov 19 2009

Downing Street has denied it is standing in the way of MP expenses reform, after the head of the review of allowances said he was "disappointed" by Gordon Brown's failure to include legislation in the Queen's Speech to implement his proposals.

Downing Street insisted the Prime Minister was not seeking to block Sir Christopher Kelly's reforms.

But in an apparent concession to Mr Kelly, Number 10 added that the PM was ready to bring forward any legislation needed to complete his reforms "on a cross-party basis as required".

The move drew accusations of a U-turn from Conservatives, who pointed out that Mr Brown had brushed aside an earlier offer from David Cameron of Tory help to rush the measures on to the statute book.

The row blew up amid reports that police may be about to pass files to the Crown Prosecution Service on six MPs and peers caught up in the expenses scandal, with a possible decision on charges in January.

Scotland Yard described as "speculation" a report in the Daily Telegraph that the Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer will imminently receive files on Labour MPs Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Jim Devine, Labour peers Baroness Uddin and Lord Clarke of Hampstead and Tory Lord Hanningfield.

The bulk of the most dramatic measures in this month's Kelly Report - such as banning the employment of MPs' spouses and ending taxpayer funding for mortgages - can be implemented without further legislation.

But Sir Christopher believes that key measures must be passed into law by Parliament, and said that it was "very important" that this was done before the election to allow the new generation of MPs arriving at Westminster to start with a clean slate.

They include provisions to bolster the independence of the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, to give it responsibility for setting MPs' pay and to beef up its powers to investigate and punish errant MPs, as well as a requirement for parliamentary candidates to register their interests and a ban on MPs serving in devolved assemblies.

Sir Christopher said: "The leaders of all the main political parties have agreed that our recommendations should be implemented in full. It is disappointing therefore that the Queen's Speech did not contain measures to address the changes we believe to be necessary affecting the remit, powers and independence of the new body being established to regulate expenses."