“MPs will be banned from buying furniture, installing new kitchens or buying televisions on expenses but will be given a £4,200 a year subsistence allowance which can be claimed without receipts.”
The Times, 25th June 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“MPs’ expenses claims could be subject to stricter checks under plans to reform the system for parliamentary allowances being published this morning.”
The Guardian, 25th June 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Caroline Spelman is to face an official inquiry by parliament’s sleaze watchdog into expenses claims in relation to her nanny, it was announced today.”
The Guardian, 17th June 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“David Davis listed a host of controversial developments in the arena of civil liberties as the reasons for his shock resignation.”
The Independent, 12th June 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“The House of Lords is aiming to spruce up its fusty image by launching viral videos on a YouTube channel to ‘combat outdated stereotypes of members’ and build on its first web foray Lords of the Blog.”
The Guardian, 13th June 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A request to see MPs’ expenses seemed innocuous enough. But, says Robert Verkaik, Law Editor, the Commons authorities decided to fight it tooth and nail.”
The Independent, 23rd May 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Corporate Officer of the House of Commons v Information Commissioner and Others
Queen’s Bench Division
“Shortcomings in transparency and accountability in the system of paying additional costs allowances to Members of Parliament justified full disclosure of detailed information concerning those payments of their residential expenses.”
The Times, 22nd May 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“A Labour peer was cleared of misconduct yesterday after a House of Lords disciplinary committee failed to establish whether he broke parliamentary rules by taking money for a ministerial introduction.”
The Guardian, 22nd May 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The obligation to provide information for disclosure pursuant to s 1(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 was distinct from and not limited by the obligation to provide information for disclosure in a publication scheme pursuant to s 19 of that Act. Members of Parliament could not expect to contract out of compliance with the freedom of information legislation nor expect the House of Commons, for its own purposes, to suspend or dispense with legislation without expressly amending or repealing it. Details of a member’s residential address did not benefit from exemption under s40 of the 2000 Act and disclosure was justified in accordance with para 6(1) of Schedule 2 to the Data Protection Act 1998 where it was ordered as part of a disclosure of information concerning a deeply flawed system of payment of members’ expenses.”
WLR Daily, 19th May 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“Michael Martin, the Speaker of the House of Commons, has abandoned a legal bid, costing taxpayers £150,000, to keep secret a detailed breakdown of MPs’ expenses.”
The Guardian, 20th May 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Extracts from the high court judgment today ordering the publication of full details of the expenses claimed by 14 MPs and ex-MPs relating to their second homes.”
The Guardian, 16th May 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The House of Commons has lost its High Court battle over an information watchdog’s decision to force disclosure of MPs’ expenses.”
The Independent, 16th May 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“The High Court will rule today on whether the House of Commons has won its bid to overturn an information watchdog’s decision to force disclosure of MPs’ expenses.”
The Independent, 16th May 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
“The camel that is the UK Government’s answer to what it terms ‘extreme porn’ lumbers onward. Although, by the time it escaped the Lords last week it really was beginning to look like a particularly moth-eaten dromedary.”
The Register, 5th May 2008
Source: www.theregister.co.uk
Curistan v Times Newspapers Ltd
Court of Appeal
“The privilege which attached to a fair and accurate report of parliamentary proceedings was not necessarily lost because of the addition of extraneous nonprivileged material in the same article.”
The Times, 6th May 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
Curistan v Times Newspapers Ltd [2008] EWCA Civ 432; [2008] WLR (D) 135
“The qualified privilege which attached to a ‘fair and accurate’ report of parliamentary proceedings was not necessarily lost because of the addition of extraneous non-privileged material in the same article. Where an article consisted in part only of passages entitled to such privilege, the meaning of the non-privileged passages was to be ascertained on the basis that the privileged passages merely provided the context in which the other statements were made, and the repetition rule, under which for the purpose of libel law a hearsay statement was the same as a direct statement, had no application to the privileged passages.”
WLR Daily, 1st May 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“The House of Commons, held up as a beacon of democracy, has a ‘dirty little secret’, according to black MPs – its racism.”
The Guardian, 13th April 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The legal bid by the House of Commons to keep the publication of MPs’ expenses under wraps suggests they have something to hide, Whitehall’s anti-sleaze watchdog said today.”
The Guardian, 11th April 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Crisis meetings are to take place in the House of Lords today over a series of sleaze allegations against peers, the Guardian can disclose. These include accusations that cash has been taken from lobbyists, passes handed out to commercial interests and expenses improperly claimed.”
The Guardian, 31st March 2008
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“The Speaker of the House of Commons yesterday took to the High Court the fight to stop details of MPs’ expenses being disclosed, despite receiving legal advice that he is pursuing a case that he cannot win.”
The Times, 26th March 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
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