PM outlines 'code of conduct' plans
Updated on 31 May 2009
Gordon Brown's has outlined plans for a code of conduct for politicians, admitting MPs abuse of their expenses is "appalling" and offends his ''Presbyterian conscience''.
Gordon Brown said today there were "clear cases" of MPs who may have broken the law over expense claims but insisted that only "a few" MPs had abused the Westminster perks system.
As one of his MPs apologised for claiming for a £5 donation he made at a church service commemorating the Battle of Britain, the Prime Minister said he planned to introduce a binding "code of conduct" for MPS and warned other public institutions they would also face tougher scrutiny as part of a bid to clean up the system.
And he hinted on the BBC1’s Andrew Marr programme that an independent review of the pay and perks system would call for a ban on controversial "golden handshake" pay-offs for MPs who stand down.
The Conservative leader David Cameron was also drawn into the controversy today, with one of his frontbenchers embroiled in a dispute over capital gains tax.
