David Cameron On MP's Expenses

Letter from David Cameron MP to Regional Chairman Linda Kirk

Dear Linda,

The reputation of Parliament was black enough before the black-out of expenses. Today it's even darker. I have long argued that transparency is absolutely key to re-building that trust. Suspicion and cynicism are instantly aroused by secrecy, so we need to open politics up to the people - especially when it comes to expenses.

When it comes to so called redactions only strictly private information - like phone numbers and bank details - should be crossed out, because there are legitimate security concerns about having this information online. Censorship for any other reason is unjustifiable. This is public money we're talking about - money earned through the hard graft of the millions of people we serve - so it is wrong to try and throw a veil over how it is spent.

So what next? The House of Commons Commission should bring forward the publication of the 08/09 expenses in uncensored form. My Shadow Cabinet are already publishing their current expense claims online, and today I've asked them to go further by including all significant correspondence and receipts.

I have also put all my expenses for the last month online, in full. We can only move on from this dark time in politics by recognising that people have a right to see exactly where and how public money is spent, because it's clear - there can be no trust without transparency. Anything less than the full truth is just not good enough.