Dozens of MPs 'allowed to repay expenses money in secret'

Dozens of MPs were allowed to admit expenses errors and repay money in secret, it was claimed today. John Lyon, the parliamentary standards commissioner, struck deals with individuals to fast-track their cases, according to the Daily Telegraph . The arrangement is permitted using a "rectification procedure" that was introduced under Michael Martin, the former Speaker of the Commons, in 2005. MPs who are willing to admit they have broken parliamentary rules can be given the option of returning cash and apologising to the standards and privileges committee, which oversees conduct issues. The newspaper reported that use of the procedure has increased sharply since Lyon took up his post in January 2008. He allegedly allowed 16 cases to be dealt with in this way last year, compared to an average of just three per year under his predecessor. One of the MPs who have benefited is said to be Labour backbencher Janet Anderson, who repaid almost £5,750 privately after overclaiming for petty cash. Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, told the Telegraph the practice should be brought to an end. "When someone has admitted to doing something wrong, and certainly when they're paying back money, then that's a matter that should be public," he said. "Constituents deserve to know how their MPs are acting in a public capacity. And where public money is involved, we have a right to openness and accountability. Anderson, the MP for Rossendale and Darwen, repaid the money after claiming twice the £250 petty cash permitted on 23 occasions. She told the paper she had been unaware that the repayment agreement had not been made public. In his most recent annual report, Lyon wrote that he typically considered using the procedure "where there was no clear evidence that the breach [of Commons rules] was intentional and it was at the less serious end of the spectrum".