More than a quarter of MPs employ family members - at the taxpayers' expense

Scandal: Derek Conway overpaid his son out of his MP expenses More than a quarter of MPs employ family members at the expense of the taxpayer, it was revealed today. No fewer than 177 MPs, including three Cabinet ministers, admitted to paying relatives out of their generous staffing allowance. Six other ministers are on the list, while 10 MPs employ more than one family member. The Rev Ian Paisley employed three relatives, including his son who is a prominent Northern Irish politician in his own right. And one husband-and-wife couple, Peter and Iris Robinson, also of the Democratic Unionists, employ four relatives between them - two sons, a daughter and a daughter-in-law. Labour MP Clive Betts also revealed that he employs his boyfriend, James Thomas, as part-time parliamentary assistant. And Tory Northern Ireland spokesman... [read full story]