‘Sleaze’ call over MEPs expenses

Date published: 13/05/2008

Rochdale Euro MP Chris Davies has condemned his fellow MEPs for their expenses.

Mr Davies, who blew the whistle on attempts in the European Parliament to cover up reports into the abuse of expenses, is leading the campaign for complete openness by all MEPs.

In Sunday’s News of the World, Conservative MEP David Sumberg was revealed to be paying his wife up to £95,000 a year for secretarial assistance — even though he has only made two speeches in the European Parliament since 2004.

Fellow Tory MEP Sir Robert Atkins was found to have paid both his wife and son more than £2,500 a month each.

Mr Davies is now calling for Conservative leader David Cameron to pull rank and sort his party out.

The Liberal Democrat MEP said: “This looks like another case of sleaze, sleaze, sleaze and it is bad for the reputation of everyone in politics.

“MEPs in all parties must set the same standards of financial probity that they would demand of every other public institution in Europe.

“The newspaper dubs David Sumberg ‘Britain’s laziest MEP’ and it is a matter of public record that he has made only two speeches in the past four years.

“He is David Cameron’s man in Brussels and we should be told exactly what he is doing for his money.”