British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (left) apologised on Monday after days of revelations about lawmakers' expenses, including for dog food, as the spotlight turned on opposition Conservatives. --PHOTO: AP
LONDON - BRITISH Prime Minister Gordon Brown apologised on Monday after days of revelations about lawmakers' expenses, including for dog food, as the spotlight turned on opposition Conservatives.
Day four of the revelations in a newspaper showed expense claims for replacing lightbulbs, cottage decorations and repairs to a water pipe under a tennis court at a country home.
Mr Brown issued the apology after an opinion poll showed the nature of the previously secret claims were eroding public trust in politicians. 'I want to apologise on behalf of politicians, on behalf of all parties for what has happened in the events of these last few days,' he said in a speech to a nurses' conference in Harrogate, northern England.
Parliamentarians 'have a responsibility to show that people who enter our profession are there to serve the public interest, and not to serve themselves,' Mr Brown said.
The prime minister's 'sorry' over an issue which first hit the media on Friday came after the leader of the main opposition Conservatives, David Cameron, also urged lawmakers from all parties to apologise.
Mr Cameron, whose party holds a strong lead over Mr Brown's Labour party in opinion polls, said it was 'not good enough' for parliamentarians to claim they were simply following the rules allowing them to claim expenses.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper, which reportedly paid a six-figure sum to buy the CD containing details of the claims, turned its attention to the Conservatives Monday after three days of detailed revelations about Labour.
It revealed Alan Duncan, the Conservatives' leader of the House of Commons, claimed 7,000 pounds (7,800 euros, 10,600 dollars) for gardening services over a two-year period. Mr Duncan received an official warning from parliamentary authorities over the claim, but still received more than 4,000 pounds over three years.
David Willetts, the Conservatives' spokesman on innovation and universities, claimed more than 115 pounds for electricians to replace 25 lightbulbs at his second home in London. The Telegraph noted that Mr Willetts, nicknamed 'Two Brains' for his intellect, 'couldn't change a lightbulb (or all 25 of them)'.
Andrew Lawnsley, who speaks on health issues for the party, claimed 4,000 pounds for decorating a thatched cottage before selling it in an example of the practice of 'flipping' properties designated as an MP's second homes.
The change in designation allows lawmakers to claim allowances for multiple properties from public funds. -- AFP
