The sun sets on the Houses of Parliament in London. Full details of MPs' expenses were officially …
LONDON (AFP) – Details of MPs' expenses were officially published online for the first time Thursday, as the scandal which has already forced a slew of resignations claimed a fresh victim.
The roughly 1.2 million pages of documents on parliament's website seem unlikely to throw up many fresh surprises, partly because the Daily Telegraph newspaper has already published swathes of leaked information showing how MPs claimed lavishly for everything from a duck island to moat cleaning.
But there was fresh controversy as it emerged that large sections of the information put online Thursday have been blacked out, including addresses, prompting criticism from transparency campaigners.
Maurice Frankel of the Campaign for Freedom of Information said the published, redacted details were a "very poor substitute" for full disclosure.
And Heather Brooke, a campaigner whose legal battle led to publication of the information, told the BBC: "People will get a lot out of it, particularly when they look at their own individual MPs, but I think they'll also become frustrated because they will want to see the different detail".
Publication of the expense claims, which cover 2004/05 and 2007/08, came over a year after the High Court ordered their disclosure following a lengthy legal battle by journalists and campaigners including Brooke.
Junior treasury minister Kitty Ussher became the latest casualty in the expenses row Wednesday night when she quit after it was reported she had avoided paying tax worth up to 17,000 pounds on the sale of her house by "flipping".
This is the practice of redesignating which home MPs -- many of whom have houses both in London and their constituencies -- classify as their second residence and affects how much allowances and expenses they can claim.
The fact that MPs' addresses are blacked out in Thursday's online publication means it is impossible to discover who is guilty of flipping without further information.
Around 20 MPs and a string of ministers have quit over the row in recent weeks and the main political parties are investigating possible abuses of the system.
An official review is under way and is expected to publish proposals for the reform of the system later this year.
One of the highest profile scalps was House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin, who will step down Sunday before MPs elect his successor Monday.
He was accused of failing to show the leadership necessary to secure reform over expenses.
But he left with a parting shot at Prime Minister Gordon Brown and David Cameron, leader of the main opposition Conservatives, in his farewell speech Wednesday, accusing them of not acting early enough on the issue.
Martin said MPs had the chance last year to take action and it was "deeply disappointing" that they had not.
"I wish that party leaders would have shown then some of the leadership that they have shown now," he added.
Brown's government, already struggling before the expenses scandal, has seen its popularity hit hard by the row, although Conservative MPs have also been heavily implicated.
A Guardian/ICM poll this week showed that the Conservatives had 39 percent support compared to 27 percent for Brown's Labour. A general election must be held by the middle of next year.
The roughly 1.2 million pages of documents on parliament's website seem unlikely to throw up many fresh surprises, partly because the Daily Telegraph newspaper has already published swathes of leaked information showing how MPs claimed lavishly for everything from a duck island to moat cleaning.
But there was fresh controversy as it emerged that large sections of the information put online Thursday have been blacked out, including addresses, prompting criticism from transparency campaigners.
Maurice Frankel of the Campaign for Freedom of Information said the published, redacted details were a "very poor substitute" for full disclosure.
And Heather Brooke, a campaigner whose legal battle led to publication of the information, told the BBC: "People will get a lot out of it, particularly when they look at their own individual MPs, but I think they'll also become frustrated because they will want to see the different detail".
Publication of the expense claims, which cover 2004/05 and 2007/08, came over a year after the High Court ordered their disclosure following a lengthy legal battle by journalists and campaigners including Brooke.
Junior treasury minister Kitty Ussher became the latest casualty in the expenses row Wednesday night when she quit after it was reported she had avoided paying tax worth up to 17,000 pounds on the sale of her house by "flipping".
This is the practice of redesignating which home MPs -- many of whom have houses both in London and their constituencies -- classify as their second residence and affects how much allowances and expenses they can claim.
The fact that MPs' addresses are blacked out in Thursday's online publication means it is impossible to discover who is guilty of flipping without further information.
Around 20 MPs and a string of ministers have quit over the row in recent weeks and the main political parties are investigating possible abuses of the system.
An official review is under way and is expected to publish proposals for the reform of the system later this year.
One of the highest profile scalps was House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin, who will step down Sunday before MPs elect his successor Monday.
He was accused of failing to show the leadership necessary to secure reform over expenses.
But he left with a parting shot at Prime Minister Gordon Brown and David Cameron, leader of the main opposition Conservatives, in his farewell speech Wednesday, accusing them of not acting early enough on the issue.
Martin said MPs had the chance last year to take action and it was "deeply disappointing" that they had not.
"I wish that party leaders would have shown then some of the leadership that they have shown now," he added.
Brown's government, already struggling before the expenses scandal, has seen its popularity hit hard by the row, although Conservative MPs have also been heavily implicated.
A Guardian/ICM poll this week showed that the Conservatives had 39 percent support compared to 27 percent for Brown's Labour. A general election must be held by the middle of next year.
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