Small victory for Heather Brooke in ongoing fight for transparency

Earlier this month we reported how a submission by the investigative journalist Heather Brooke was among 67 statements being questioned by lawyers for the Committee on Standards in Public Life inquiry into the MPs’ expenses scandal.

Hearings were held in public for the investigation into MPs’ allowances but the standing committee, chaired by Sir Christopher Kelly, was refusing to publish evidence from Brooke, on the grounds it could be ‘libellous’.

But Brooke can now claim a small victory in her fight for transparency. Last week the committee told her it has now been published on its website, she told Journalism.co.uk.

“The Committee having weighed the risks decided to publish the submission,” she was informed via email.

It is available to view at: http://public-standards.org.uk/Library/MP_Expenses_E681_Heather_Brooke.pdf [PDF]

Journalism.co.uk will now try and find out what happened to the other 66 submissions in question…

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