Brown 'disappointed' over expenses vote

Gordon Brown is "disappointed" that MPs voted against abolishing their lucrative expenses regime. MPs last night rejected calls for the abolition of the "John Lewis list" and independent scrutiny of their claims. "The Prime Minister has always made clear that he is in favour of any move that would enhance transparency," Mr Brown's spokesman said. MPs defied uproar over their taxpayer-funded claims for kitchens, bathrooms and plasma televisions. While voting to keep the £24,000-a-year budget to buy and kit out second homes, they also killed off moves to subject their allowances to external audits following recent scandals. But they approved a new programme to get bigger and better constituency offices at an additional cost to the taxpayer of up to £3.2 million every year. The package retaining the so-called "John Lewis list"... [read full story]