No, Gordon, this is not a cleaner, more open politics: we must see the full, unredacted report on Malik

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

UPDATE: The report is now available here, unredacted except for personal details. This post was largely written before full publication of the report, but published after the Mawer Report became publicly available. Apologies if I was behind and misreported the case. For clarity, Shahid Malik was cleared of breaking the code of conduct referred to below.

A month ago, Shahid Malik resigned as Justice Minister pending an inquiry into his second home allowance claims, thereby becoming the first official to leave the government as a result of the expenses scandal. Between 2005 and 2008, Malik had claimed the maximum entitlement of £66,827 (£443 a week) for a home he kept in London while renting his first home in his Dewsbury constituency for under £100 a week, a price well below its market value. These arrangements break the code of conduct for members’ expenses, which stipulate that no financial gain should be made from public allowances.

Meanwhile, the Daily Telegraph reported that Malik also claimed for £2,600 for a home cinema system, £65 for a court summons for skipping his reduced council tax, £510 for a wardrobe and a further £730 for a luxury massage chair.

In new developments today, it has been revealed that the MP for Dewbsury also claimed £6,500 on expenses for a “second” office space below his constituency flat.

When Mr Malik left cabinet, Gordon Brown assured him he would be reinstated were he cleared of any wrongdoing by an investigation conducted by Sir Philip Mawer, the Prime Minister’s adviser on ministerial rules.

But last night, in spite of the Prime Minister’s insistence yesterday that he was going to clean up politics and make Parliament more open, the full publication of the report was blocked. Instead, Brown has agreed to publish an “edited summary”.

Christopher Kelly, the person in charge of the review into Members’ expenses has said the report should be published in full. Gordon Brown has oft repeated that Parliament will have to take on board the recommendations of the Kelly Report. So why the sidestepping on this particular case? Whatever the intentions may be, it looks like a coverup.

Gordon, this appears to be more of the same. It is not the improvement you promised the party on Monday at the PLP meeting, and it is not the transparency or the cleaning up of politics you promised the country just yesterday.

The results of this sort of political slipperiness will likely be another set of the following comments, taken from the Lancashire Telegraph at the time of Malik’s initial departure:

“I hope nobody votes for these currupt MPs ever again”.

“Malik got caught out…just another greedy MP…he should be sacked no questions asked that goes for the rest too”.

“Here we go, the whitewash begins”.

“The MPs just deny they are doing anything wrong. Remember all this when you vote next time”.

“All Civil Servants know that they must not accept any gifts or favours because it can lead to you being put in a difficult situation. The landlord has stated that he lets out a house about half the size of Mr Maliks for a much higher rent. What does the landlord hope to gain by favouring his MP? Those in public life know what the rules are and should know how to protect themselves from being seen as receiving favours”.

“Leeches. Do not vote for these fraudsters”.

“He is taking advantafe of a privileged position which he would not seem to deserve.”

“Gordon is a hypocrite. A political opportunist, that’s all Gordon is”.