Clegg: MPs' expenses should be published now

2.40.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 27th Mar 2008

A High Court appeal has been made by MPs to block the publication of MPs' expenses. They were due to be published after the Commons authorities lost a Freedom of Information case - but instead they have launched a High Court appeal. The appeal says MPs' addresses should not be published on security grounds. But Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg told the Today programme that that should not stop other details being revealed.

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said "The reason why this feels like a needless, additional hammer blow to public confidence in the House of Commons and what MPs do, is, I think we all now accept, that there should be full declaration of all MPs' expenses. Most people who enter public life are doing it for the best of reasons, but where people are making mistakes and there are abuses they have got to be rooted out. That will happen in the coming months once the arrangements are put in place in any event. So it's not as though it's doing anything other than delaying the inevitable."