Ann Widdecombe: Innocent MPs deserve a voice

Tory leader David Cameron has warned his own MPs they faced being barred from standing in the General Election if they fail to pay back expenses. Mr Cameron said "everyone" had to abide by the decision made in the audit of expenses by Sir Thomas Legg, despite growing unrest in Parliament over the review. He said: "In the end, if people are asked to pay back money and if the authorities determine that money should be paid back and they don't pay it back, in my view, they can't stand as Conservative MPs, that is the minimum point." He added: "One point is important, this is a process, you get a letter, in the letter it says 'this is provisional' and you have to reply to the letter and there will be some issues of determination about whether it is correctly described and all the rest of it. "But at the end of the process, MPs have to pay back the money they are asked to by the authorities. "To me that is the least we can do to try and sort out these problems of the past before going on to the future." His remarks came after Gordon Brown agreed to pay back more than £12,000 of expenses claims, but faced growing resistance from MPs reluctant to follow his lead.

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ITN | October 13, 2009

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