House of Shame

When today's duty Press Officers entered No.10 for the first time, they probably did not envisage a day when he would be defending the PM over a plumbing invoice. The Daily Telegraph's first tranche of revelations over MPs claims for expenses was one of those truly jaw-dropping moments in politics. Journalistically they were, contrary to the protestations of Lord Mandy, entirely justified in focussing on members of Cabinet first. After all they are, at least in theory, in power and able to initiate reform. But they didn't.

Instead they got thoroughly stuck in. Hazel 'Gracie' Blears (pictured) popped up from behind her hedge in Salford this morning and said, with contrived candour, "I live here... and I have only ever had a small one-bedroomed flat in London". Then she bustled off without having the courage to answer any questions. The Telegraph's assertion that Blears had switched the designated second-home status back and forward from London to Manchester to claim a bomb in expenses rather shattered her image as an innocent, sentimental Lancashire lass. Her hard-pressed constituents are unlikely to swallow such patently, self-serving drivel.

The manifold reports, filling ten pages of broadsheet, exposed widespread yet not universal exploitation of the expenses system. Hillary Benn claimed about a piffling £140 of the maximum £24,000 second-homes allowance despite having a constituency in Leeds; his attitude only serves to highlight the unsated greed of his Cabinet colleagues. Benn must be under the impression a salary of £141,000 is quite adequate. Ed Milliband and Alan Johnson look equally monastic, certainly compared to NI Secretary Shaun Woodward. He claimed £100,000 in mortgage payments on his second home, hoping we would not recall the detail that he owns seven houses. Christ on a bike!

Brown gave the Beeb a 30-second interview and between several sickly grins, admitted the system was broke. His claims of over £6,500 for additional cleaning paid through his brother revealed a degree of nepotism together with hints of a disturbing obsession with hygiene. He's in it as deep as the rest and to blame the system is like a bunch of football hooligans decrying the glorification of violence.

They are all holding their breath for 24 hours as the focus will imminently fall on the Tories. In the meantime they simply repeat the mantra that all their claims are within the rules. Those same rules expect claims to be "beyond reproach" and demonstrate value for money. So much for that.

This is not even the end of the beginning. All we can be certain of is the public's anger will outlast their political careers.