In not understanding why Maria Miller is not facing criminal charges?

[NutcrackerFairy]

Apparently 80% of voters believe that MM should be thrown out of the Cabinet and forced to give up her Commons seat as punishment for making false expenses claims [according to a recent poll].

Now if a person in receipt of benefits had fraudulently obtained £45,000 of tax payers money I think they would be facing some sort of criminal proceedings as well as being forced to pay back all that is owed and possibly also being fined. Admittedly they may only be required to pay back a nominal sum per week if on particularly low income but the principle is the same.

And if this was someone else in 'normal' employment who had been caught fiddling their expenses [sometimes by a heck of a lot less than £45,000] they would most likely be escorted off the premises, out of a job and possibly facing criminal charges.

So why is Maria Miller let off the hook, only being asked to pay back a fraction of what she obtained fraudulently, keeping her job and not been charged with fraud?

And why the hell is she able to apparently legitimately claim her mortgage interest anyway? On a property she owns, where her parents live and where she is set to make a tidy £1.2 million pound profit [apparently]. Why the fuck are the taxpayers being asked to fund rich MPs second homes? Why can't they stay in a hotel [like other employees who have to travel for work] and claim the cost of this to expenses?

Is it just the tip of the iceberg as per fraud and MPs expenses? Is MM being protected so not too many questions are asked of other MPs and their expenses claims?

I just think it is gobsmacking and infuriating to see what the ruling classes are up to with tax payers money when massive cuts to services and benefits are taking place.

If there is no money in the pot for these then there is no money for MPs to be claiming their mortgage interest surely

Well said. YADNBU.

I don't understand it either. YANBU.

YANBU

I don't see how she can be taken seriously in future.

YANBU

I don't understand why we pay mortgages and not just rent. Renting a one bed flat in Westminster should be enough, surely? How can it be ok that the taxpayer pays the mortgage and they keep the profit on selling?

Many MPs feel that they are underpaid. It was common practice to overclaim on expenses. It was seen as a legitimate way of topping up their salaries to what the MPs felt they were actually worth. Hence the huge resistance to the clamp-down on expenses. Obviously, some MPs felt that they were worth more than others - eg Maria Miller. Unrestrained self-entitlement. She is being protected because many MPs have done something similar, and presumably because Cameron likes her. These little peccadillos don't mean much to Cameron, as we've seen in the past.

It's probably because the vast majority of them have their snouts wedged firmly in the trough so they are terrified to do anything to those who get caught, in case it all comes out. I bet there's a hell of a lot of money going places it has no right going.

Like that story a bit back about the peers who get what is it? £300 a day for walking into the house of lords and straight back out again?

There was lots of noise about change but I've not heard any update on whether the system that makes that perfectly legal has been or will be changed. Maybe they're hoping we'll forget all about it. Or maybe they did change it and just haven't publicised the changes very well.

yup. 'All in it together' has a slightly different meaning to the one dear old dave tries to plug...

I agree, she's effectively stolen from the taxpayer.

She should be paying CGT on her second home too, is my undestanding.

She was uttterly horrible to the Chair of the parliamentary committee and someone from her office allegedly threatened a Telegraph journalist.

How she is still in office is beyond me.

It's quite obvious that MPs cannot police themselves.

She should be behind bars - the hypocrisy is absolutely astounding.

YANBU.

If she felt she was being underpaid she should have got another job, not stolen from the people who pay her wages.

Yanbu.

Havent we already had the mp expenses scandal? Double glazed duck houses all round? So why has this bee allowed to continue?

I saw on Fb (so not exactly a reliable source I agree) that the MPs who voluntarily paid back their expenses had this money reimbursed in a secret hush-hush deal. Maria Miller would certainly be looking a jail sentence if she had obtained this amount of money by fraudulently pretending to be a single parent or unable to work via disability. It should not be one law for us and another for them.

This relates to the time before the scandal broke.

YANBU maybe we should follow Icelands example and get rid of the lot of them.

I'm not 100% certain she should be in prison (maybe she should) but I cannot believe she's still in office. What a farce.

Ah does it thanks grovel

She is a thief, pure and simple. She should be sacked and tried in the criminal courts.

I think MPs should have halls of residence like students for when they're in Westminster and eliminate the second home nonsense.

Yanbu she should be facing fraud charges.

Neither committee found her guilty of deliberately defrauding the taxpayer. They both accepted she made a mistake. So, no she should not be behind bars.

I still think she should resign.

Hear, hear, unicorn I quite agree. That would certainly shake them all up and some fresh blood would be healthy for all

yes i agree jay55, they should have an MP's hostel with no alcohol available and have one home in their constituency.
fucking greedy pigs, demonising benefits claimants.

Neither committee found her guilty of deliberately defrauding the taxpayer. They both accepted she made a mistake. So, no she should not be behind bars.

That's a bit like a war crime being tried by a military tribunal.

But Dinosaur a lot of people feel they are underpaid [myself for one and I earn a heck of a lot less than the average MP!]

A lot of us are having to endure salary freezes [so effectively a pay reduction in terms of cost of living]. My own salary has been frozen for 3 years now.

However I am not stupid or arrogant enough to think I can award myself a pay rise via over claiming on expenses. As I said in my above posts, if this was an average Joe employee or person in receipt of benefits who had been found out in fraudulently claiming expenses they would be either out of a job, fined, facing criminal proceedings [or all three].

I can't understand how MPs are getting away with this sort of grand scale theft from the tax payer.

And what can us average Joes do about it? Viva la revolution!

stealth, these claims cover the period of 2004-2009 iirc so date back to just before the expenses scandal. The complaint against her was made by a fellow MP and she has actually been cleared of 'charges' under that complaint. She was made to apologise for having a poor attitude to the investigation and highlighted her own over-claim, which she's paying back - if she'd been more cooperative she may have been able to keep her head down a bit more. Not an apologist for her actions at all but it's a complicated case I think.

The report is here for those who care - makes interesting reading.