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More MPs not 'getting it'. The BBC News website runs the story about the 80 numpties refusing to repay money demanded by Sir Thomas Legg. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8417114.stm
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As of 6.45am today, this article is covering MPs from all parties, but - for what reason? - leading off its detailed look at certain of the MPs with "Tory MP for Thanet North, Roger Gale" and following him with "Tory Bernard Jenkin" (and at no stage in the whole article does the word 'Conservative' appear, only 'Tory' - which gives another hint at the biased mindset of the article's unnamed author). Why?
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There's another article on the 'Politics Page', not so obviously placed: "Minister repays expenses on flat". http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8419572.stm. This is about Labour minister Sion Simon. As it typical with expenses story harmful to Labour, this one stresses Simon's repayment and 'good faith', & gives the majority of the article to Sion's side of the story. Nowhere in the article is there any appearance of the word 'Labour'. (For comparison, here's the Telegraph article that broke the story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/6835502/Government-minister-paid-more-than-40000-in-expenses-to-sister.html)
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Will this change as the day goes on?
I think I may have posted this elsewhere, but has anyone done an analysis by political party on expenses. My overall impression is that by far the worst offenders by numbers and amounts involved are Labour MPs. If that is the case, the biased BBC does not reflect the true position, giving the impression that the nasty Tories are the worst.
ReplyDeleteI tried using the 'Telegraph' expenses files - and other searches - to try and answer that very question a while back but didn't get very far. I can't find a simple (or even a complex) list of amounts and party totals anywhere. This is very strange.
ReplyDeleteI think what happened was that Telegraph editor Will Lewis , a NuLab man , launched the investigation on the basis that the Tories would come off worse and when that appeared not to be the case obscured the details so it is difficult to analyse. Just a hunch !
ReplyDeleteJust found out that 6 MPs and peers are being considered for criminal prosecution. 5 Labour, 1 Tory. Should be headline news on the BBC.....
ReplyDeleteThere's still nothing on the BBC News website about it yet Grant (late afternoon). I've found the names on the 'Telegraph' website, and then checked Sky (where they're also listed).
ReplyDeleteBut, if it had been 5 Tories and 1 Labour ..... !!!
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