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Mark Hunter MP & the Cheadle Liberal Democrats
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Mark Hunter MP slams 'blacked out' expenses
June 19, 2009 5:19 PM
Mark has condemned the 'blacked out' expenses
Mark Hunter, MP for Cheadle constituency has today condemned the House Authorities decision to publish MPs' expenses with large portions 'blacked out' or 'redacted'.
Mr Hunter's expenses were published along with all other MPs with entire pages 'blacked out' yesterday. The House Authorities decided to publish them in this format for security reasons and concerns about data protection. However the publication has shown that far more than bank details, signatures and bank details have been blacked out, with entire pages redacted in a misguided effort by the fees office to save time and effort.
Commenting Mr Hunter said: "Publishing expenses in this way has done further damage to Parliament and the public faith in our democracy. The Fees Office should have ensured that they only blacked out the real essentials for security like private bank details and addresses. To have redacted almost all of some pages leaving only the amounts, defeats the purpose of publishing the expenses receipts.
"Parliament has really shot itself in the foot again - this own goal has left the public even more frustrated and angry. Individual MPs had no say in how the House authorities redacted their expenses as an MP with a track record of openness and transparency I intend to publish mine on my own website www.markhunter.org.uk on a quarterly basis."
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