Gordon Brown said on BBC local radio in Derby:

“I think this money will have to be paid back by these politicians. I think the evidence is that people in their position will have to pay back any money that they get in legal aid.”

Brown said that free legal aid would be abolished in June in favour of means testing, adding that the three MPs would not receive legal aid under the changes, reiterating that he ‘thinks’ they will have to pay the money back.

A spokesman for the Legal Services Commision later said what I suspect we all know anyway, that the changes would not apply in this case as the aid had already been granted.

The only chance of  the legal aid having to be repaid, lies with the Judge at the trial, who could decide at the end of the cases whether those charged should pay back any or all of the aid. How is Gordon Brown so out of touch with this?

The fourth politician to be tried for his part in the expenses scandal has at least had the common decency not to apply for legal aid.

After living the life of Riley at the tax payers expense the accused, at least three of them, are determined to continue milking the public for all they can get.

Elliot Morley, David Chaytor, Jim Devine all face criminal charges of false accounting over claims they made for mortgage payments, rent and other services.

The fourth politician charged with the same offences is Conservative peer Paul White. If found guilty of the charges,they could face a maximum seven years in prison.

So we could face yet another few years of subsidising them, while they further educate themselves in the finer details of accountancy and deceit in jail.

The poor woman goes on to suggest that the Telegraph expenses disclosures are a ‘McCarthy style witch hunt‘ forcing politicians to breaking point, going so far as to say that MPs are ‘genuinely concerned’ as they walk around Westminster with ‘terror in their eyes.’

What exactly is making the poor little darlings so afraid?

Labour MP Stephen Pound speaking on BBC’s Today programme dismissed Jone’s analogy as ‘Facile’ because McCarthy’s victims were innocent, good to hear that there is some intelligence in Westminster. He accused MPs of revelling in a sense of entitlement fostered by (government employed) fees office staff who saw it as their job to maximise members claims.

While keen to put pressure on fees office staff, Pound at least admitted that MPs have no-one to blame but themselves.

How sick I am of hearing the non excuses from inteligent and well educated people in parliament who insist that they have done nothing wrong or are within the rules or in the case of the dour faced Margaret Beckett, who was wheeled onto TV at short notice to defend MPs expenses, claiming that she was simply ‘too busy’ to be bothered to check her own expenses claims.

Nadine Jones meanwhile must at last feel as the UK public do with this incompetent bunch of morons from all parties. They are no different to the benefit cheats , who MPs consider the scum of the earth.

Jone’s claims that MPs can’t take much more, ‘This has got to a point now where it is almost unbearable for any human being to deal with.’

She is right. Do the correct thing, pay back the money and get out of politics, it really is quite simple.

Quite rightly, the government has called for a total reform of the system and so ending the ‘gentlemens club’ that currently exists among it’s members. The tax paying public will demand complete transparency in any reform and the PM owes it to all of us to put his money where is  mouth is and restore some respectability with a fresh and transparent set of rules regarding the controversial expenses allowance made available to MP’s.

Martin’s use of tax payers money in seeking legal advice when attempting to keep MP’s expenses from being made available to the public is nothing less than shameful and inexcusable. Now we have come this far and brought the controversy out into the open, Gordon Brown has the opportunity to do something right, by offering a government that operates within the rules and where everything is above board and available to public scrutiny.

He has a chance to redeem himself, by introducing honesty and integrity to politics and he should embrace that opportunity now. Sadly it will not happen, Gordon Brown like many politicians is too interested in himself to notice what a mess he has created.