The middle of the line

The MPs expenses saga rumbles on and on, with the revelation that MPs have paid back over £800,000 with another £400,000 outstanding. There are still unanswered questions about some individuals (such as Nadine Dorries who suggested that the affair had led MPs to consider suicide, which was an interesting way of deflecting attention from her own claims).

Locally, Jeremy Wright has won the appeal that I mentioned the other week. Even though he has clearly admitted that his claim for nearly £800 in mobile phone bills was against the guidelined in the “Green Book”, it seems that he was able to argue that poor advice combined with a possible lower cost than a landline meant that he shouldn’t have to pay the money back. Personally, I’d say that quibbling such a low amount when it was known to be technically against the rules looks petty. I doubt he couldn’t afford to pay the money back, or that he would be judged more harshly than MPs who have been caught out to the tune of tens of thousands.