Streatham MP Keith Hill has condemned the abuse of expenses by some of his fellow MPs that has left the reputation of the house “in tatters”.

He said those found to have abused the expenses system - or potentially broken the law - should be investigated and the appropriate action taken against them.

He said: “I’m as shocked as the general public by the revelations that we have been getting over the past two weeks.

“I feel rather disappointed that having gone into politics believing in the good intentions of all those involved, I will leave it with the institution tarnished.”

Mr Hill, who will give up his seat at the forthcoming general election, said the abuses had come as “a total revelation” to him.

Yet he did vote in support of Freedom of Information bill which would have protected MPs from Freedom of Information requests into their expenses.

As an inner London MP he is not eligible for a second homes allowance - but he added he had never even dreamed of claiming for food, as some of his colleagues in Parliament have done.

He will be publishing the details of his expenses on his website “as soon as possible”, but has to make sure no confidentiality breaches occur in doing so, he added.

He claimed he had nothing to hide and his expenses would not make interesting reading.

He was ranked 597th out of the 645 MPs for the amount he claimed in 2007/8, according to parliamentary scrutiny website, theyworkforyou.com
The only solution to the crisis is for salaries and expenses to be determined by an independent body, Mr Hill said.

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