None of this would have ever have come out but for Freedom of Information legislation.
I’ve been campaigning for this (with the wonderful Campaign for Freedom of Information, led by its unsung hero, Maurice Frankel, the Director of the Campaign) ever since I became an MP in 1983. I was fortunate enough to introduce the Right to Know Bill in 1992 on which the Freedom of Information Act was eventually based. Many Tory and Labour MPs were sceptical, or even hostile, to FOI and tried to exempt MPs. By a narrow majority they did not succeed but it was the Speaker's rearguard action, going to the High Court to try to prevent publication of MPs' Expenses, that led to his downfall - a decent man, supporting the wrong policy. We now need a new Speaker who not only is enthusiastic about throwing open the windows on Parliament, but who has the positive support of real, political reform. I'll write more about this in the coming weeks but he must support the House in its fundamental role of scrutinising Government and calling it to account. In recent years Parliament has become little more than a rubber stamp for Government. That must change, with the Commons getting a grip on its own agenda, via a Business Committee and electing its own Select Committees and their Chairs (both at present decided by the Government after cosy talks with the Leaders of the other main parties - a system that keeps out "troublemakers"). A new Speaker who will really stand up for the House will make a real difference.