Government U-turn on MPs' expenses

1.28.00pm GMT Wed 21st Jan 2009

The government has just announced that Gordon Brown has ditched the proposed special exemption for MPs from the Freedom of Information Act, due to be brought before Parliament tomorrow.

Labour MPs were to have been whipped to vote to ban the public from seeing the detail of their MP's expenses, but following pressure from the Liberal Democrats, Mr Brown has dropped the controversial measure.

However, MPs will still have to vote on new arrangements for detailing expenses. Sal Brinton said: "At last the Government have seen the madness of their proposal. We must move to a system where all MPs expenditure is clearly accounted for to their electorate. Any MP who votes against it brings politics into disrepute."