British MEP Loses £2 million by being honest

A whistleblowing British Euro-MP claims that he may have lost out on more than 2 million over 10 years by refusing to bend parliamentary rules for claiming expenses.

Liberal Democrat Chris Davies, who has campaigned for complete financial transparency over the spending of public money, wants to stop the cheats.

The MEP is calling for the requirements on all British candidates to be toughened before the European elections in June.

A year ago Davies leaked details of a secret report from the European Parliaments auditors that revealed how the budget for the employment of staff was open to abuse. The MEP had been allowed to read it only in a sealed room without taking notes.

Today, the Sunday Times published full details of the report, showing how some Euro-MPs could pocket more than 1 million in a five year term.

The North West region is represented by a total of nine MEPs; four Conservatives, three Labour, one Liberal Democrat (Davies), and one UKIP.

Davies, who was elected in 1999, claimed that the majority of MEPs used their staff budget honestly to pay their staff and their office budget to pay for their office.

He said: It is not true that expenses are being abused by everyone, but voters should ask questions of their representatives.

Honesty doesn't pay in this system and the temptations are great. No-one knows who is cheating and who is not, and it is a disgrace that the Parliament has voted to keep auditors reports secret.

The parliamentary salary, the pension rights, and the generous daily allowance for living in Brussels will give most MEPs a financial package similar to that of a doctor or dentist. That should be more than enough for anyone.

Yet some MEPs from some countries may have pocketed 2 million more than I have by observing the letter but not the spirit of the rules. I dont want the cheats to get away with it.

In June 2008 the Conservative Party dropped North West MEP Den Dover from its list of candidates after it was revealed that he had paid 758,000 in parliamentary expenses to a company owned by his wife and daughter.

The Sunday Times revealed in November 2008 that North West Conservative MEP David Sumberg had been claiming 40,000 a year in office expenses despite living in London and having no office in the North West. Sumberg has announced he will not be seeking re-election this year.

Changing the European Parliaments rules requires the approval of a majority of MEPs from 27 countries, some of which tolerate abuse of expenses to a greater extent than others.

Chris Davies says that recent reforms represent half a step forward: New rules being introduced from July will make us better than the Italian Parliament but leave us a long way behind practices in the House of Commons.

The Liberal Democrat wants Britains political parties to toughen the requirements they make on candidates standing in the elections this June. He says that they should pledge to publish annually the total amount they receive from all public sources.

He said: The Parliament continues to defy rulings from the European Ombudsman that this information be made publicly available. We may not be able to insist that every MEP across Europe publishes what they receive but we can at least do so in Britain.