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| Brown outlines expenses reforms | Brown outlines expenses reforms |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Gordon Brown has promised "root and branch" reform of Parliament as his government prepares to outline new laws to regulate MPs conduct and expenses. | Gordon Brown has promised "root and branch" reform of Parliament as his government prepares to outline new laws to regulate MPs conduct and expenses. |
| Ministers are proposing laws to set up an external body to authorise future expenses claims and discipline MPs. | Ministers are proposing laws to set up an external body to authorise future expenses claims and discipline MPs. |
| Mr Brown told the BBC that the measures were a response to "public dismay and anger" over the expenses scandal and could be approved by the end of July. | Mr Brown told the BBC that the measures were a response to "public dismay and anger" over the expenses scandal and could be approved by the end of July. |
| He told Radio 4's World at One it was the biggest ever reform of Parliament. | He told Radio 4's World at One it was the biggest ever reform of Parliament. |
| He said he was "determined" to clean up the political system and acknowledged he would be "answerable" to the public over his success in doing so at the next election. | |
| "This is root and branch reform," he said. "It has never been done before." | |
| Mr Brown was speaking in the wake of criticism of Parliament for first resisting calls to publish expenses details and then blacking out of large chunks of claim details before their release on Friday. | Mr Brown was speaking in the wake of criticism of Parliament for first resisting calls to publish expenses details and then blacking out of large chunks of claim details before their release on Friday. |
| We cannot move on until we have addressed people's anger Gordon Brown | We cannot move on until we have addressed people's anger Gordon Brown |
| All parties broadly back Gordon Brown's proposal to take control of expenses out of Parliament's hands, details of which will be outlined by Commons leader Harriet Harman. | |
| Recent revelations by the Daily Telegraph based on a leaked unedited version of all expenses claims made between 2004 and 2008 - have led to the resignation of a host of MPs and a police investigation into a number of individuals. | |
| In response, Gordon Brown says Parliament must no longer be able to determine MPs' allowances, with responsibility for the system being transferred from the much-criticised Commons Fees Office to an independent body. | |
| Ms Harman will introduce a bill to set up the Parliamentary Standards Authority which would consider claims and be able to fine or even expel MPs guilty of serious wrongdoing. | Ms Harman will introduce a bill to set up the Parliamentary Standards Authority which would consider claims and be able to fine or even expel MPs guilty of serious wrongdoing. |
| The bill will also include obligations for MPs to disclose details of their outside financial interests including income from second jobs. | The bill will also include obligations for MPs to disclose details of their outside financial interests including income from second jobs. |
| A new code of conduct, outlining what constituents can expect from their MPs, is also being proposed. | A new code of conduct, outlining what constituents can expect from their MPs, is also being proposed. |
| 'New course' | |
| Ahead of Ms Harman's statement, Mr Brown said he believed the proposals - combined with moves to independently audit all MPs expenses over the past four years - would help restore confidence in the system. | |
| "Everything that needs to be done for root and branch reform is being done," he said. | |
| The proposed reforms would launch British politics on a "new course", Mr Brown added, although he acknowledged that tougher rules were not enough and Parliament must reconcile itself to a "new culture of self-restraint". | The proposed reforms would launch British politics on a "new course", Mr Brown added, although he acknowledged that tougher rules were not enough and Parliament must reconcile itself to a "new culture of self-restraint". |
| Opposition parties support, in principle, the role of an external regulator although areas such as the declaration of outside financial interests will be more controversial. | Opposition parties support, in principle, the role of an external regulator although areas such as the declaration of outside financial interests will be more controversial. |
| Mr Brown has asked the Committee on Standards in Public Life to propose changes to the system of MPs' pay and allowances by the end of the year. | Mr Brown has asked the Committee on Standards in Public Life to propose changes to the system of MPs' pay and allowances by the end of the year. |
| Many MPs - including the new Commons Speaker John Bercow - have urged the government to accept its recommendations in full. | Many MPs - including the new Commons Speaker John Bercow - have urged the government to accept its recommendations in full. |
| Party leaders agreed a series of interim changes to expenses last month, including a cap on what MPs could claim in mortgage interest and an end to claims in contested areas such as furniture, gardening and cleaning. | Party leaders agreed a series of interim changes to expenses last month, including a cap on what MPs could claim in mortgage interest and an end to claims in contested areas such as furniture, gardening and cleaning. |