Centre for Open Politics's Page

The Sunlight Centre for Open Politics has reported Lord Sheldon to the House of Lords authorities over reports that appeared in the Sunday Times at the weekend.

Lord Sheldon a former treasury minister and chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee is accused of claiming £130,000 of the ‘overnight’ subsistence allowance for a home he previously owned in Manchester. However he passed this home to his son in 2003. Therefore according to land registry documents he no longer owns the property… Continue

The Sunlight Centre for Open Politics has reported Lord Taylor of Warwick to the House of Lords Authorities this morning after allegations in the Times newspaper at the weekend. Lord Taylor is suspected of claiming £70,000 on a 'phantom' home in the Midlands between 2001 and 2007.

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An MOD press officer John Salisbury-Baker is suing the MOD for disability discrimination as he claims that as an MOD press officer he had to lie regarding certain equipment to the media. He also had to support families who had lost their loved ones and then attend their funerals. It would be humiliating for him to go to a funeral knowing that the particular soldier had been sent to fight with substandard equipment yet many of the families would trust the MOD to provide the correct equipment for… Continue

Good news today!

Sir John Chilcot has just announced in a press conference that he intends to make as many of the inquiry hearings as open as possible. This will be through the medium of television, the internet and the public attending. He also confirmed that Tony Blair would be called.

However he did not give an inquiry for the completion of the inquiry certainly not before the next general election. Instead an interim report may be released.

Although the Sunlight Centre welcomes the open i… Continue

Just when we thought the ’silly season’ was about to start in earnest the Times revealed over the weekend that Lord Bhatia 77 who was made a peer by Tony Blair in 2001 but sits on the neutral crossbenches could face a possible police probe following allegations surrounding his claims for his two bedroom apartment occupied by his brother. Lord Bhatia nominated this apartment, as his ‘main home’ in October 2007 allowing him to claim £12,247 in six months. However he has continued to live in a £1.5… Continue