MPs’ expenses plan criticised

A proposal to publish MPs’ expenses without releasing receipts has been criticised as ‘outrageous’. The Commons lost a Freedom of Information battle last year and was ordered to publish all MPs’ claims and receipts by October 2008. However, the deadline passed with Commons officials saying that process and cost was proving ‘more complex than anticipated’. If the Commons rejects the proposed changes next week, MPs would be the only public sector employees exempt from parts of the Freedom of Information Act, and their expenses would not need to be published with receipts.