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May 13, 2009

Campaigner Heather Brooke launches MP expenses petition

By Sally Griffith

Freedom of information campaigner Heather Brooke has launched a campaign to get MPs’ expense receipts published immediately.

Brooke, who has been campaigning for the details to be released for years, has teamed up with the Taxpayers’ Alliance to create an online petition that calls on the House of Commons authorities to immediately publish the full receipts behind MPs’ expense claims – including second home addresses.

In March 2008, Brooke won a High Court case against the House of Commons for the full disclosure of MPs’ second home allowances.

The new petition asks the House to commit to publishing full receipts in future on a quarterly basis and demands that an independent person be allowed access to the full record “to ensure no MPs are deleting information to avoid criticism or embarrassment”.

On her website, Your Right To Know, Brooke says: “The only power the people do have is to band together and shame the powerful into doing what’s right.

“The more names on this petition the greater the chance we can start dictating a new relationship between politicians and the people.”

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