RMT Slams Network Rail for Putting Bonuses Before Public Safety

Rail union RMT today slammed Network Rail bosses for putting bonuses before public safety after the union received a point blank refusal from the company to a request for the publication of risk assessments relating to the deferral of 28% of their track renewals programme in the drive to claw back nearly £3 billion in cuts.

RMT first requested the risk assessments, which would outline the dangers to the travelling public and rail workers from the shelving of essential track renewals, on the 20th March 2009.

RMT has repeatedly asked for publication of the risk assessments over the past three months and today received a letter from Chief Executive Iain Coucher confirming that they will not be made available.

RMT are taking legal advice and are mobilising a political challenge to the refusal to let rail staff and the public see details of the safety risks associated with the deferral of track renewals. Nearly 70 MP's have signed Early Day Motion 794 calling on the Government to intervene to reinstate the rail renewals work.

Speaking from the RMT's annual general meeting on the Isle of Man, RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said:

"Just days after the news broke that Network Rail bosses are to receive massive bonuses they have been caught out trying to hide key safety information from the public and from rail staff on the implications of their decision to defer 28% of rail renewals. There is no question that the bonuses are taking priority over rail safety and that's a disgrace.

"Network Rail have used every trick in the book to keep this safety information out of the public domain and RMT wants to know what they've got to hide. We will use legal and parliamentary channels to drag this information out into the daylight.

"RMT is in no doubt that the deferral of trail renewals makes another disaster like Hatfield, Potters Bar or Grayrigg more likely and that's why we are determined to force Network Rail to publish their risk assessments."

Early Day Motion

EDM 794

That this House welcomes efforts by the Government to lessen the impact of the recession and save jobs by intervening in the private sector industries, such as the car industry; notes with concern that Network Rail, which is heavily reliant on billions of pounds of Government subsidy is deferring 28 per cent. of rail renewals work, such as track and signals replacements; notes that Network Rail has confirmed in its 2009-10 business plan that this huge reduction in track renewals expenditure will have a major impact on the supply chain with 20 to 30 per cent. less heavy materials resulting in supply chain redundancies; is appalled that this will mean massive job cuts and supports the view of the rail unions that Network Rail's actions undermine the Government's stated intentions to use infrastructure projects to boost employment; further notes with concern that Network Rail is cutting the frequency of track inspections and routine signals maintenance which, combined with the reduction in renewals work, will significantly raise safety risks to passengers and workers; urges the Government to use its power as funder of Network Rail immediately to intervene to ensure that this essential rail renewals work is not deferred, to introduce a moratorium on job cuts and to develop an industry-wide strategy to ensure that railways can be managed in a way which mitigates rather than exacerbates the effects of the economic downturn.

RMT Welcomes Parliamentary Challenge to End Poverty Pay on Ships of Shame

From its annual conference on the Isle of Man, maritime union RMT today welcomed a new Parliamentary challenge to end poverty pay on ships of shame who are paying seafarers as little as £1.50 an hour.

MPs will this week bring to Parliament's attention the scandal of seafarers working in UK waters being paid substantially less than the national minimum wage.

The exploitation is bad enough but it is in fact perfectly legal under a loophole in the Race Relations Act which allows non UK seafarers to paid rates below agreed UK levels and the and also a anomaly in the National Minimum Wage legislation which excludes non UK seafarers.

The loophole continues to exist despite years of indications from government that action will be taken.

MPs will be seeking to outlaw this discrimination by considering amendments to the government's Equality Bill and a delegation of MPs will be meeting Shipping Minister Paul Clark.

This week Labour MP Gwyn Prosser will table the following parliamentary motion saying MPs are

"appalled that in the 21st century ships, including ferry services, which regularly trade on fixed routes between UK ports and between the UK and Europe are allowed to pay poverty wages substantially below the minimum wage to non-UK seafarers including as little as £1.50 hour and is dismayed that this super exploitation is legal as a result of the a loophole in the Race Relations Act which allows non UK seafarers to be paid rates below agreed UK levels and also due to the exemption of seafarers from the National Minimum Wage.."

Speaking from the RMT's AGM on the Isle of Man, Bob Crow RMT General Secretary said:

"It is time to outlaw the ships of shame. It is a national scandal that the employers are exploiting this loophole to deny seafarers a living wage and we are going to be working with MP's to stop this outrage which allows companies to wrap themselves in the respectability of the British flag while treating their workforce like slave labour.It is time for the government to act to end the super exploitation that is taking place in UK waters. "

BRIEFING TO ALL AMEYCOLAS EMPLOYEES.

BRIEFING TO ALL AMEYCOLAS EMPLOYEES

Members of the RMT and TSSA unions together with employee representatives and senior management from both Amey and Colas have reached agreement on a voluntary severance package (VR) for the current redundancy proposals within the AmeyColas joint venture business.

The objective of undertaking voluntary redundancy applications is to endeavor to avoid compulsory redundancies within the JV business where possible.

Applications for VR will be sought from anyone who is currently working in the AmeyColas Integrated Management Team (PSM) and invitations to apply will be sent to home addresses in the next few days. All applications for VR will be reviewed by management, and management reserves the right to accept or decline any application(s).

The outline terms agreed are as follows:

For those with enhanced redundancy terms set out in your contract of employment, please find attached a copy of the matrix which sets out the basis for the calculation of VR and which has been agreed by both Unions. Where offered, this would be a solitary payment and no further payments would be applicable.

For those not on enhanced redundancy terms as set out in your contract of employment, we have agreed a payment of £1000 per year worked, calculated as per the statutory redundancy ready reckoner and capped at £20k per person. Your notice period would be in addition to this payment.

* Please note that Inland Revenue guidelines for the application of tax and NI for redundancy payments over £30K will apply as appropriate.

Any annual leave accrued but not taken by the employment end date would be paid in the next available payroll after the end date, subject to tax and NI. If the employee has taken more days annual leave than they have accrued by their employment end date, this amount will be deducted from any final payments owed to the employee

In addition to reaching agreement on the VR package outlined above, Collective and territory specific consultations also continued over the past two weeks, & union representatives and senior management reviewed and finalized in detail the proposed 'at risk' roles. As a result of this, it was also possible to firm up a number of roles which have been designated as 'identified' and therefore are no longer at risk.

On Friday 19^th June, a communication was issued by letter to home addresses for all AmeyColas employees, clarifying whether each individual is at risk or identified.

Individuals who are at risk have been offered a 121 meeting this week with a member of the management team and an HR representative. These meetings will be the start of individual consultations.

Finally, anyone who is currently at risk and requires support is encouraged to speak to a line manager, HR representative or union representative. Arrangements have been made for these people to be available more frequently in the depots across the coming days.

Revised matrix roughly 75% of the previous one.

PSM Reorganization

The following information is as accurate as I can make it based on what little is known of the current position as it stands. It compares the voluntary positions as they stand with what could be the possible complusory positions for both staff covered by PT&R and those not.

OPTION 1


This is the proposed matrix, where your age and length of service converge, you'll see a figure. Multiply your basic weekly rate of pay by this figure and subtract
25%.

The resultant figure should be indicative of what you can expect to receive as a voluntary redundancy payment. This matrix is for staff were PT&R is
applicable.

AmeyColas were originally figuring on a level of about 50% of what is shown in this matrix, but have apparently noved on that original position up until a new position of 75%, where they seem likely not to budge from.

Example is for an SM1 step 7, who is 53 years of age, and has 31 years service in. Under this matrix the initial figure is :

$64,640 = 101 weeks standard pay.
Subtract 25%
£48,480 is the final figure.

____________________________________________________

OPTION 2

For redundancy payments where PT&R is applicable. (NUR Redundancy and resettlement arrangements, Conciliation & Salaried staff British
Railways, September 1985)

Option 2 comes in two parts.

Part 1

A = Basic weekly rate of pay multiplied by B = completed number years of service up to a maximum of 25 years. Multiply this by 2.5 which will give you the first part of the redundancy payment for option 1.
........A
....x B
= sub-total
...x 2.5
= total

Example is for an SM1 step 7, who is 53 years of age, and has 31 years service in.

A = £640
B = 25
£16,000
x 2.5
£40,000

PLUS

Part 2

A supplementary payment equal to one weeks standard pay (A) for every completed year of service after 40 years of age (B).

......A
....x B
=

Example is for an SM1 step 7, who is 53 years of age, and has 31 years service in.

A = £640
B = x 13
= £8,320

Add the two totals from part 1 and 2 together, this is the amount you can expect under option 2

Example is for an SM1 step 7, who is 53 years of age, and has 31 years service in.

Part 1 = £40,000
Part 2 = £8,320
Total £48,320

____________________________________________________

OPTION 3

Part 1
Use the statutory matrix below to calculate the number of weeks pay depending on your age and length of service up to a maximum of 20 years. £350 is the current statutory maximum of a weeks pay. The resultant figure forms the first part of your redundancy pay under option 3.

Statutory redundundancy matrix. Click on image to enlarge.

Example is for an SM1 step 7, who is 53 years of age, and has 31 years service in.

£350
x 26
= £9,100

PLUS

Part 2

A supplementary payment of one weeks standard pay (A) for each completed year of service in excess or 15 years (B) or the age of 45 ( C), whichever
is the greater.

A
x B or C
= total

Example is for an SM1 step 7, who is 53 years of age, and has 31 years service in.

A= £640
B = x 16
= £10,240

PLUS

Part 3

An amount equal to 40 per cent of part 1 and part 2

Example is for an SM1 step 7, who is 53 years of age, and has 31 years service in.

40% of part 1 = £3,640
40% of part 2 = £4,096
Combined total = £7,736

Add the three totals from part 1 and 2 and 3 together, this is the amount you can expect under option 3

Example is for an SM1 step 7, who is 53 years of age, and has 31 years service in.

Part 1 = £9,100
Part 2 = £10,240
Part 3 = £7,736
Combined total = £27,076

____________________________________________________

OPTION 4

Option 4 is Voluntary Redundancy for staff not covered by PT&R.

For each year of completed service up to a maximum of 20 years, £1,000 for each year.

Years service / Amount
1 / £1,000
2 / £2,000
3 / £3,000
4 / £4,000
5 / £5,000
6 / £6,000
7 / £7,000
8 / £8,000
9 / £9,000
10 / £10,000
11 / £11,000
12 / £12,000
13 / £13,000
14 / £14,000
15 / £15,000
16 / £16,000
17 / £17,000
18 / £18,000
19 / £19,000
20 / £20,000

___________________________________________________

Option 5

Option 5 is for staff not covered by PT&R in the event of compulsory redundancy.

Use the statutory matrix below to calculate the number of weeks pay depending on your age and length of service up to a maximum of 20 years. £350 is the current statutory maximum of a weeks pay. The resultant figure forms the first part of your redundancy pay under option 5.

Statutory redundundancy matrix. Click on image to enlarge.

Example is for an individual, who is 53 years of age, and has 31 years service in.

£350
x 26
= £9,100

RMT NR Maintenance members vote by over 95% to reject harmonisation proposals.

RAIL UNION RMT announced today that members working for Network Rail Maintenance have voted by over 95% to reject harmonisation plans in a referendum ballot.

In the vote, 4094 members voted to reject the proposals against 151 in favour.

RMT had been engaged in discussions with Network Rail in an effort to reach an agreement on harmonisation but pulled out and went to ballot of the membership when it was clear that the talks had been effectively hijacked at top level as part of a drive for cutbacks in working conditions.

The harmonisation process is brought to a halt as the result of the referendum ballot and staff will retain their current terms and conditions.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said today;

"This is a magnificent result. We recommended that our members reject Network Rail's proposals and they have done so by a massive majority.

"There is no doubt that the harmonisation process, which we entered into in good faith, was hijacked by senior Network Rail managers looking to stonewall progress, and who saw harmonisation as an opportunity to attack pay and conditions as part of their £3 billion cuts plans.

"Staff will now retain their existing terms and conditions."

RMT slams Stagecoach as dividends rise while a thousand staff face the axe.

SPECIALIST TRANSPORT union RMT today slammed the latest financial results of bus and rail company Stagecoach as they revealed that shareholders dividends are being increased while up to a thousand jobs on their South West Trains and East Midlands Trains franchises face the axe.

The Stagecoach figures show that overall operating profits rose by 11% to £227 million Interim dividends for shareholders have gone up from £9.5 million last year to £12.9 this year with final dividends going up from £28.9 million to £30 million.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said today:

"It's a scandal that Stagecoach, with the connivance of the government, are jacking up their dividend payouts while up to a thousand of their rail staff are being threatened with being thrown on the scrapheap.

"Jobs are being axed, ticket office opening hours are being cut and all in the name of generating the maximum profit and dividends for the company's shareholders.

"RMT repeats its call that there should be a moratorium on dividend payments across the transport sector while the threat of redundancy hangs over thousands of our members heads."

RMT calls two 48hr strikes at Jarvis Rail/Fastline in response to attack on jobs

RAIL UNION RMT has announced two 48 hour strikes of members working for Jarvis Rail and Fastline in response to a refusal by the company to give guarantees on compulsory redundancies – leaving 200 staff facing the prospect of being thrown on the scrapheap.

The strikes will run from:

06.00 hours on Saturday 27^th June 2009 to 06.00 hours Monday 29^th June 2009

06.00 hours on Saturday 11^th July 2009 to 06.00 hours Monday 13^th July 2009

The threat to jobs at Jarvis Rail and Fastline is part of a wider attack on employment on the railways which has put thousands of posts at risk. The threat to staff is also driven by the decision by Network Rail to defer nearly a third of their track renewals work as they aim to claw back nearly £3 billion in savings.

RMT has warned that the cutbacks in track renewals create the conditions for another major tragedy on the railways.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said today:

"These strikes are in direct response to the jobs massacre on the railways as the companies involved seek to protect profits at the expense of the workforce and the travelling public.

"RMT will not accept that rail engineers, doing essential work, are cannon fodder who can be hired and fired at the whim of accountants and senior managers.

"We warned that the deferral of a third of the renewals programme by Network Rail would have disastrous consequences and our fears are proving well founded."

Alabama 3, Aleida Guevara, Tony Benn and Bob Crow at London event.

RMT GENERAL secretary Bob Crow will be joined by Alabama 3, the band behind the Soprano's theme song "Woke Up This Morning, Aleida Guevara, Che Guevara's daughter, Labour movement legend Tony Benn and a host of other special guests this Wednesday evening for the 7th Annual RMT Cuba Garden Party which this year will mark the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution.

RMT are delighted that Aleida Guevara has been able to make it for this year's event. Aleida is the eldest daughter of four children born to Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Aleida is a doctor of medicine, she is based at the William Soler Children's Hospital in Havana and has also worked as a physician in Angola, Ecuador and Nicaragua. She is interviewed about the philosophy behind universal health care in Michael Moore's film Sicko.

Alabama 3 are branded as "The most political band in Britain." Famous for their work in support of anti-racist campaigns, Miscarriages of Justice Organisation and on behalf of death row prisoners in the States. Their Soprano's theme song, "Woke Up This Morning", is a fitting introduction to their unique blend of country, techno and rap.

Bob Crow, RMT General Secretary, said today:

"RMT are delighted to be hosting this seventh annual Cuba Garden Party in this very special year marking 50 years of the Cuban Revolution.

"The resilience and determination of the Cuban people to defend their revolution in the teeth of US hostility for fifty years is a lesson to us all. We will be sending a loud and clear message from London to Havana that the Cuban people are not standing alone and that our solidarity is stronger today than it's ever been."

Key bidder pulls out of Tyne and Wear Metro tender process.

SPECIALIST TRANSPORT union RMT revealed today that one of the four approved bidders for the privatisation of Tyne and Wear Metro – MTR Rail from Hong Kong – have pulled out of the process leaving just the in-house operation and two private companies still in the frame.

RMT have also calculated that around £1 million of tax payers money has been spent on an in-house tender for a privatisation that the overwhelming majority of people are opposed to, money that could have been invested in improvements to Tyne and Wear Metro

Newcastle MP Jim Cousins has tabled a motion in the House of Commons saying that:

"the tendering process can play no useful purpose and that the best interests of passengers will be served by the Metro remaining as a unified railway in the public sector, where every penny of funds invested is spent on improving passenger services."

RMT, working with MP's and the high profile campaign to Keep Metro Public, have warned that privatisation would mean job cuts and the milking of the contract by a private company to pump up returns for their shareholders. The contract is due to be awarded in November.

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said:

"The withdrawal of MTR Rail shows just how shaky this whole privatisation plan really is. It's pressure from the campaign which has sent out a signal to the private sector that Tyne and Wear Metro is not going to be sold off for a fast buck and that they will have a fight on their hands every step of the way.

"The Nexus passenger transport executive and the Government should pull this privatisation plan before more money is wasted and before irreparable damage is done to Britain's most successful railway in the name of greed and profit."

Tube workers take protests to Boris Johnson at City Hall

Tube workers take protests to Boris Johnson at City Hall over broken promises on cleaner's living wage and snow day pay.

RMT tube workers will be taking a protest to Mayor Boris Johnson's question time this Wednesday – 17th June – over his broken promises on the London Living Wage for some tube cleaners and over the docking of pay for staff who could not get into work on the snow day in February.

Boris Johnson has given a pledge that all staff working on GLA and TFL contracts will receive the London Living Wage which was recently upgraded to £7.60 an hour. However, staff working for ISS on Tube Lines are only getting £6.12 an hour as well as working in appalling conditions. The RMT have pointed out that Mayor Johnson himself is paid £78 an hour and that his Chief Executive has had an 11% increase taking him to £205,000 a year.

The cleaners are expected to clean up syringes and other waste left behind by drug users, deal with the aftermath of suicides and run the constant risk of exposure to diseases carried by rats. They work in filthy conditions down the tube tunnels. But despite that, they typically have no access to hot and cold running water to wash themselves and share primitive and cramped, mixed changing rooms.

The Mayor's other broken promise is over snow day pay. In February, Boris Johnson said that he had "no intention of penalising anyone who failed to get to work because of the …exceptional weather." Local managers have since reneged on that promise and staff have had their pay docked or been forced to take annual leave.

"It's a scandal that some of our tube cleaners, who clean up infected syringes, the body parts from suicides and run the constant risk of exposure to infection, are paid just over six pounds an hour – nearly £1.50 an hour less than the London Living Wage," Bob Crow RMT general secretary said today.

"London Underground is conniving in this exploitation. They have washed their hands of the cleaners appalling levels of pay and the failure to supply safe and appropriate working conditions, by saying it's a matter for the private contractors. That's a disgraceful way to treat key underground staff and the Mayor should intervene to stop it now.

"Boris Johnson should keep his promises on the London Living Wage and snow day pay," Bob Crow said.

Bob Crow to speak at key London “People’s Charter”

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow will join Labour MP John McDonnell on the platform at Lambeth Town Hall next Tuesday for a key "People's Charter" public meeting which will address the fallout from the Euro poll and the election of two fascists from the BNP to the European Parliament.

RMT is a key supporter of the "People's Charter" which maps out a political vision based on public ownership, peace, sustainability and workers rights as an alternative to the "race to the bottom" of the collapsing, free-market, capitalist system of the bankers and the speculators.

Bob Crow, who led the No2EU-Yes to Democracy coalition in the Euro elections, said:

"The Euro elections showed the full state of the collapse in support for the traditional parties of the political elite. It was the collapse in the Labour vote that let the BNP in through the middle and which sent two fascists to Strasbourg.

"But the vote also showed that there's a platform to build on for the left, despite a scandalous media blackout for socialist organisations while the BNP were feted like celebrities on "I'm a Nazi – Get Me Out Of Here!"

"The People's Charter is a rallying point for all those who are sick of the bankers, the sleaze, the corruption and the City spivs. The Lambeth meeting will be a real opportunity to look at building support for the Charter and taking it forward."

BRITAIN’S BIGGEST UNION PLEDGES FULL SUPPORT FOR RMT DISPUTE

BRITAIN'S BIGGEST trade union, Unite, which is also one of the four unions on London Underground, has pledged its full support and solidarity with the RMT in its current dispute over jobs, pay and bullying on the tube.

Unite have also joined a growing call for Mayor Boris Johnson to enter into direct talks with RMT which has been supported today by London Labour MP's, GLA members and former London Mayor Ken Livingstone.

Peter Kavanagh, Unite regional industrial organiser, said:

"We have expressed our solidarity with RMT in their fight for a decent pay settlement and assurances over no compulsory redundancies. We urge management and London mayor, Boris Johnson to intervene constructively so that there will be a settlement."

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said:

"We welcome the support and solidarity from our fellow tube union Unite which has been echoed by support from across the trade union movement proving that traditional union principles still remain strong.

"Despite exaggeration from TfL, and some sections of the media, only a skeleton service is being provided today and RMT members remain solid in their support. We are still pushing for the direct, top level talks that are needed to end this dispute."

Patrick Cormack

Sir Patrick Cormack claimed more than £1,000 a month in rent for his second home in London. Other claims included £329 on a TV £200 on a radio and £349.97 on replacement reading lamps.

Douglas Carswell's Love seat?

Douglas Carswell claimed £655 from his expenses for a love seat.

Peter Bone claims £1,300 a month rent

Peter Bone claims £1,300 a month rent on a flat in London, along with £400 a month food. His other claims included £299.99 on a television, £87.98 on a DVD player and £599.98 on two sofas.

Richard Bacon rent bill of £1,538 a month?

Richard Bacon designated second home in London, where he claimed £1,235 in monthly mortgage interest between 2004 and 2007. Claimed for £2,500 to repaint and redecorate flat in spring of 2006.

Moved out in 2007 and stayed in hotels until he rented in Dolphin Square at £1,538 a month.

Shahid Malik unable to produce receipts or rental agreement.

Sir Philip said that it was "unfortunate" that Mr Malik had not been able to establish a proper audit trail to support his assertions on rent payments.

Mr Malik was able to return to the Government as a junior communities minister after he was cleared by Sir Philip of any breach of the ministerial code of conduct.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister refused to publish a report by Sir Philip into Mr Malik's finances.

But on Wednesday, after calls for publication from figures including Sir Christopher Kelly of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, Mr Brown backed down and an edited summary of the document was later published.

The Cabinet Office released Sir Philip's full report, with the address of Mr Malik's Dewsbury house omitted, along with the name of his landlord, Tahir Zaman, and his property company, which had been disclosed previously by The Daily Telegraph.

It found Mr Malik had originally rented one property for £320 a month for three-and-a-half years until the end of May 2008. He then moved into the larger property next door for a monthly rent of £620.

In this report, Sir Philip, the Prime Minister's adviser on ministerial interests, said that he was satisfied that Mr Malik had been charged a commercial rent on both properties, but expressed concern at the way in which payments were made on the second house.


He concluded, in relation to the first property: "I am satisfied that Mr Malik was charged a market, not a discounted rent... I am also satisfied that Mr Malik paid the rent agreed."

On the second, larger property, Sir Philp said he was "clear" that Mr Malik had also been charged the market and not a preferential rent.

"However," he added, "there is no tenancy agreement in relation to the house stating the rent", before noting that there were also no receipts available for cash rental payments involved.

"So I am left with the question, not whether the rent Mr Malik says he was charged was preferential, but whether Mr Malik actually paid the rent he... says he was charged," he said.

"Three pieces of evidence appear to confirm that these cash payments were made...

"I conclude that, on the basis of the evidence before me, it is more likely than not that these cash payments were made."

He added: "It is unfortunate, particularly given his public position, that, in respect of that house, Mr Malik did not think of obtaining at the outset a rental agreement specifying in writing the rent to be paid," Sir Philip said.

"He then entered into an arrangement to pay part of the rent in cash, for which payments (name of the property company) did not give him any receipt.

"I understand the point Mr Malik makes about the influence on him of religious and cultural norms in the Muslim community relating to payments made in cash, but the absence of a rental agreement and of receipts meant that he was left without a clear audit trail to show the payments he had made."

Sir Philip said that Mr Malik had told him that, following original disclosures in The Daily Telegraph's allegations, he had asked for a rental agreement to be drawn up and was "actively considering" paying all of his rent in future by direct debit.

"I hope that, in both his own best interest and the wider interest, he will institute arrangements in this respect immediately," Sir Philip said.

Mick Cash on the Harminisation referendum at Network Rail.

Mick Cash speaks about the issues surrounding the Harminisation referendum at Network Rail.

The Tube Strike Bob's View on it!

Bob Crow speaks about the Tube Strike and the events that have led to it.

Government to hold Eurostar in public ownership!

RAIL UNION RMT today broadly welcomed a commitment from the Government to hold Eurostar in public ownership heralding an announcement by Minister of State Sadiq Khan as " good news for rail workers and passengers alike".

RMT is also calling for further commitments from the Government which would ensure that:

• High Speed 1, the UK end of the Eurostar track, should be owned and maintained by Network Rail.

• The UK government should continue to work in partnership with the French and Belgian railways.

• New routes should be planned on a co-operative basis with these other State-owned railways for the benefit of passengers and railways and not on the basis of competition.

• The proceeds from the sale of the Eurostar property portfolio, currently held by London and Continental Railways, should be used for the benefit of the whole community with the emphasis on regeneration and social housing.

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said today:

"The commitment to hold London and Continental Railways, which runs the Eurostar, in public ownership is a welcome move which RMT has campaigned strongly for.

"We now want to see the Eurostar service developed as a co-operative venture with other European state-owned railways for the benefit of passengers and staff rather than for the benefit of share-holders and bankers.

"There is now no reason why other sections of the rail network, starting with the troubled National Express franchise on the East Coast route, can't be returned to public ownership as part of a genuine People's Railway," Bob Crow said.

Lisbon Treaty Song - Easy Come, So Easy Go!

By Liam Tiernan a long-time song writer who has a string of household Irish tunes to his name - the Men Behind the Wire, the Boys of the Old Brigade etc.

He is happy for this song to get around.

Ireland is the only country allowed vote on the Lisbon Treaty aka EU Constitution. Half a billion people in Europe are counting on us to save democracy for them.

Irish Trade Unions against Lisbon Treaty

Leading Irish trade unionist Mick O'Reilly urges a NO vote in upcoming referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. O'Reilly is a member of UNITE, Ireland's second largest trade union, which has an official position against the Lisbon Treaty. O'Reilly argues that the Treaty will reinforce the corporate-led drive towards the commercialisation and privatisation of public services across Europe.

Recorded at 'No To Lisbon' meeting in Shamrock Lodge pub, Finglas, Dublin 9 on February 19th, 2008

Trade Unionists Speak Out Against Lisbon Treaty in Dublin in November 2007.

Brian Denny of Trade Unionists Against the EU Constitution.

Trade Unionist Speaks out Against Lisbon Treaty speaking in Dublin in November 2007.

Bob Crows speaks out against the Lisbon Treaty, European Treaty.

Caroline Flint launches 'stiletto in the heart' of Gordon Brown

After being snubbed for a promotion, Caroline Flint, the Europe Minister, delivered the most personal attack yet on the beleaguered Prime Minister, accusing him of using her as "female window dressing" and of operating a "two-tier Government".

In a move designed to maximise the damage to Mr Brown, she announced she was quitting his Government just as he faced the cameras to insist he would not walk away from Downing Street following Labour's worst performance at the polls in 30 years.

Less than 24 hours earlier, she had taken to the airwaves to support his leadership in the wake of the shock resignation of James Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary, and his demand that the Prime Minister go for the good of the party.

But her departure was just one of a series of ministerial walk-outs which undermined Mr Brown's hurried attempt to reshape his Government and relaunch his premiership.

Geoff Hoon, John Hutton, Paul Murphy, Margaret Beckett and Tony McNulty have all quit the Government.

They followed Jacqui Smith, Hazel Blears, Mr Purnell and Beverley Hughes out of the exit door.

Mr Brown was forced to retreat from his plan to sack Alistair Darling, the Chancellor, instead keeping him and Foreign Secretary David Miliband in their posts, promoting leadership rival Alan Johnson to the Home Office and effectively making Peter Mandelson deputy Prime Minister.

Miss Flint's resignation came after a stormy meeting at Downing Street.

She issued a savage resignation letter personally attacking Mr Brown's style of Government and the overwhelming pre-eminence of men.

"You have a two-tier Government, your inner circle and then the remainder of Cabinet," she said.

"Several of the women attending Cabinet – myself included – have been treated by you as little more than female window dressing."

Proposed Matrix

Above is the proposed matrix for voluntary redundancy. Click on image to enlarge it.

Response to Lobbying my MP on Job loses in the Rail Industry.

Below are the pages of a letter that I received from my local MP, Mr Philip Hollobone. It is a reply to a letter that hes sent to the Minister of Transport on my behalf, raising concerns over a number of issues within the rail industry, chief amongst them being a avalanche of job losses for no really good reason other than that Network Rail can please their political master's. I'd like to say thankyou to my Brother for publishing my earlier item, and letting us become an author.
Click to enlarge images.


Page 1 of letter.


Page 2 of letter.


Page 3 of letter.

MPs block bid to stop golden farewells

The Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) formally recommended last year that the payments – worth up to £64,766 – should no longer be given to MPs who choose to stand down.

Only those who suddenly needed a job after losing their seat in an election should be eligible, it said, rather than those who knew long beforehand that they would be leaving Parliament.

Had it been implemented, the proposal could have saved the taxpayer millions of pounds at the next general election, when dozens of MPs are expected to stand down following the expenses scandal.

However, in an unusual move, the Speaker’s Committee – a group of MPs including Michael Martin, the Speaker; Harriet Harman, the leader of the House; and Alan Duncan, the shadow leader of the House – rejected the recommendation.

Their decision was never publicised. It was finalised two months ago, after party leaders had been warned privately that many MPs would be embarrassed by the disclosure of their expenses’ claims.

Since The Daily Telegraph began its investigation into the expenses system, more than 15 MPs have announced that they will stand down at the next general election.

It has been predicted that many others will follow. However, to the anger of many of their constituents, all of them will be entitled to the “parachute” payment, or Resettlement Grant as it is officially called.

It is worth up to a year’s salary, depending on the MP’s length of service and age, and the first £30,000 of it is tax-free.

The rejection of the SSRB’s recommendation also means that even those MPs who have been suspended from their parties or forced to stand down over the scandal will receive the payments.

Among those who will be given the grant are Elliot Morley, David Chaytor and Ben Chapman, all of whom made “phantom claims” for mortgage interest on home loans which did not exist.

They were subsequently banned from standing by the Labour Party.

However, in addition to the resettlement grant and their gold-plated final salary pension schemes, “retiring” MPs will receive other payments for up to a year before the next election.

They are entitled to a “winding up allowance” of as much as £42,068 for costs including paying off staff, many of whom are their spouses or relations.

Gordon Brown and David Cameron, the Labour and Conservative leaders, have already come under pressure from Nick Clegg, their Liberal Democrat counterpart, to scrap the parachute payments before the next election.

Mr Cameron has said that he will wait for independent recommendations, despite it now emerging that such proposals have alreadybeen made and privately rejected.

The SSRB, which publishes regular studies on Parliamentary pay, pensions and allowances and is made up of Whitehall officials, recommended an end to the payments last year.

In its January 2008 report, which was presented to Parliament, Sir John Baker, the head of the SSRB, said: “We consider the purpose of the grant is analogous to redundancy payments and we recommend that it should no longer be paid to MPs who retire or resign.”

However, minutes from a meeting held in the Speaker’s house in March 2008 and attended by the Labour MP Sir Stuart Bell, the Lib Dem Nick Harvey and the Conservative David Maclean, noted that the group disagreed with the SSRB about the resettlement grant.

“The view was expressed that the SSRB had underestimated the uncertainty of parliamentary life and the impact on Members after normal retirement age,” the minutes stated.

By June 2008, the Speaker’s Committee had decided that if MPs could only get the resettlement grant by standing again, they might deliberately stand for unwinnable seats, which would be “difficult to manage”.

By April 2009, the committee had decided to reject the SSRB proposal. The new Green Book of Parliamentary rules stated that the payments would be made “for all Members who fail to be re-elected or who do not stand at a general election”.

The resettlement grant is also available to MPs who stand down during a parliament because of ill-health. These MPs have to write to the director of the fees office setting out their situation.

MPs including Ian McCartney, Elliot Morley and Margaret Moran (all Labour) have all mentioned health problems in their resignation statements. It is not known whether any MPs have contacted the fees office. At the 2005 election, 136 MPs left the Commons and got £5.3 million, an average of 64 per cent of their salary.

Only 49 would have received the resettlement grant under the proposals.

More than 15 MPs, including the Conservatives Douglas Hogg, Julie Kirkbride and Sir Peter Viggers, have now announced that they will stand down at the next election after The Daily Telegraph published details about their expenses.

Roberta Blackman-Woods

Roberta Blackman-Woods claimed £9,425.19 in stamp duty and other costs associated with buying a London flat. Later claimed £1,364.29 per month in mortgage interest payments.

Bob Blizzard

Bob Blizzard claims £1,278.25 monthly mortgage interest payments on a second home in London. Mr Blizzard has made few other claims. Those included £363 for a washing machine.

David Blunkett

David Blunkett designates his second home as a rented property in Derbyshire. He pays £600 per month in rent. He claimed £1,600 for half the cost of relaying a path there.

Political Cartoons

Second home for Lib Dem who was nine miles from Commons

The party's spokesman on health in the House of Lords was MP for Richmond Park until 2005 when she stepped down at the general election. Even though her constituency was just nine miles from Westminster, Lady Tonge claimed between £650 and £850 a month in mortgage interest on a flat in central London, as well as utility bills.

The peer also regularly claimed between £150 and £200 a month for food.

She no longer pays a mortgage on the £330,000 property but has rented it out since her retirement four years ago to Stephen Williams, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bristol West. He, in turn, has claimed the rent on his tax-free designated second home allowance.

Mr Williams, the shadow secretary of state for innovation, universities and skills, paid her £1,200 a month between 2005 and October 2007, when the rent increased to £1,500.

Lady Tonge, who lives in an £810,000 property in Richmond, west London, said she had bought a second home in the centre of the capital because Parliament used to sit much later in the evening.

She said: "The hours in 1997 when I became an MP were very different from now. I took a flat at Westminster because of all-night and late-night sittings. The journey to and from Westminster may not seem much in miles but it becomes much more difficult at that time of night."

Lady Tonge also defended letting her flat to another politician and said that she still owed money on the property. "In 2005 I offered my flat to one of the new MPs, I charged a rent which covered the interest on the loan but not the service charge on the flat. I have not made any profit whatsoever and I still have the overdraft that I took out to buy the flat."

Lady Tonge was replaced in her Richmond Park constituency by Susan Kramer at the last election.The peer caused a storm of protest in 2004 when she appeared to empathise with suicide bombers in Palestine. She said: "If I had to live in that situation – and I say that advisedly – I might just consider becoming one myself."

She was sacked from her post as the Liberal Democrat spokesman for children by Charles Kennedy, the party leader at the time. Lady Tonge stepped down as an MP a year after her daughter was electrocuted in an accident, saying she wanted to spend more time with her children.

SNAPSHOT

Jenny Tonge

Job: former Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park

Salary: £57,485 in 2004

Total second home claims

2004-05: £16,579

2005-06: £0

2006-07: N/A

2007-08: N/A

Departing MPs milked system to the end

MPs who left Parliament at the last election made thousands of pounds from the expenses system in the months just before or after their departure.

Some of those who resigned or lost marginal seats in 2005 have since made tens of thousands of pounds selling or renting out flats that had been funded by the taxpayer.

Other departing MPs passed subsidised properties to their children, while some who had already announced they were stepping down spent thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money furnishing or redecorating homes.

The disclosures raise fears that dozens of MPs planning to leave Parliament following the expenses scandal stand to make substantial profits.

Today, The Daily Telegraph reports that at least 11 senior MPs benefited from the parliamentary expenses system after leaving the Commons at the last election. Many retired, rather than losing their seats, and have since been elevated to the House of Lords.

The profits from their taxpayer-funded second homes are on top of the lucrative "parachute" payments and final salary pension schemes they received after stepping down.

There is now growing pressure on party leaders to agree new rules to prevent retiring MPs profiting from taxpayer-funded properties.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, has already promised that the profits from the sale of second homes by his party's MPs will be paid to the public purse.

The disclosures, over the past 26 days, have prompted an unprecedented collapse in public confidence in the operation of Parliament.

Downing Street announced plans yesterday for a Parliamentary Standards Authority to independently verify the expense claims of MPs in future. A new National Democratic Renewal Council, headed by the Prime Minister, will also begin meeting to draw up proposals for constitutional reform in an attempt to regain public trust.

However, Labour is braced for one of its worst ever results in tomorrow’s local and European elections, and may fall to third place behind the Lib Dems according to some opinion polls.

Gordon Brown is fighting to remain Prime Minister amid growing Labour anger over his failure to deal adequately with the expenses scandal.

More than 300 MPs could resign or lose their seats at the next election. However, many could leave Parliament with sizeable windfalls.

It can be disclosed that three former MPs sold or transferred their taxpayer-funded flats to their children.

Anne Campbell, the former Labour MP, sold her second home in London to her son after she lost her seat. She said that her son had never stayed at the property while she was an MP and the sale to him was at market value.

Lord Kirkwood, a Liberal Democrat, sold his Westminster flat to his daughter for £100,000 – half the market rate. He claimed £5,000 for refurbishments in his final year as an MP.

Lord Tyler, another former Lib Dem MP, also transferred his flat to his daughter.

In 2004 and 2005, Ann Cryer, the Labour MP for Keighley and Ilkley, paid £1,200 a month to live in a Westminster flat owned by her daughter Jane Kilduff.

At the same time, her son John Cryer, then MP for Hornchurch, also nominated his sister’s flat as the address where he claimed the additional costs allowance.

Baroness Morris, the former education secretary, was among many outgoing MPs who spent thousands of pounds furnishing and renovating their properties before the 2005 election.

She spent over £7,000 refurbishing her Westminster flat after the announcement she was stepping down.

Lord Howarth, the former Labour MP, claimed £8,500 for work on his £1.45 million London house. He later sold his “main” home in Wales and still lives in the property that was his “second home”.

Lord Tyler claimed for mortgage, then 'sold' flat to his daughter

The peer bought the flat in Westminster for £275,000, with his wife Nicola and his daughter Sophie, in November 2001.

Lord Tyler, then Paul Tyler, MP for North Cornwall, claimed tens of thousands of pounds in mortgage interest payments in the run-up to the 2005 general election.

Documents lodged with the fees office show that Lord Tyler claimed mortgage interest payments of more than £9,200 in 2004-05.

After he stood down as an MP in 2005, he arranged for the ownership to be passed to his daughter, who took over the mortgage.

Land Registry documents show that it was finally paid off last April.

On Tuesday Lord Tyler said he transferred the flat to his daughter in June 2005 "when my retirement from the Commons was expected to mean that I would spend less nights in London".

He said Miss Tyler had paid to buy his and his wife's share of the property – but he declined to say how much.

He said: "When we transferred the flat to her in 2005 we paid off £100,000 of the mortgage and she took on responsibility for the other £100,000."

Lord Tyler added: "There has been no capital gain on this flat, and we have none of us made a profit and, as an MP, I voted for reform of the expenses system and for greater transparency."

He said the claims were "wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred" for performing his parliamentary duties, since his main home was in the constituency.

"My expenses were regularly checked with the fees office, acknowledged to be modest, 'value for money' and there was never any 'grounds for a suggestion of a misuse of public money'."

SNAPSHOT

Paul Tyler

Job: former Liberal Democrat MP for North Cornwall

Salary: £57,485 in 2004

Total second home claims

2004-05: £13,515

2005-06: £0

2006-07: £0

2007-08: £0

Mark Francois - A bit of an animal

While other politicians billed for flat screen televisions and moat clearing, Mark Francois, the shadow minister for Europe, claimed for a wide variety of on-the-go snacks through his expenses.

His claims included Mars bars, Snickers, Kit Kats, wine gums, Twiglets, Jaffa Cakes, chocolate biscuits, Pringles crisps and "bags of sweets".

The Conservative MP for Rayleigh in Essex also claimed for Häagen-Dazs ice cream, lemon sorbet, choc ices, crisps, Starburst, Bourneville dark chocolate and Trebor mints. Among his purchases were several Peperami "hot" 5 packs. The spicy pork snack is marketed with the slogan: "Peperami: It's a Bit of an Animal".

Under the second home allowance MPs were allowed to claim a food allowance of up to £400 per month without receipts. But, unlike many of his colleagues, Mr Francois was scrupulous about claiming exact amounts for his food purchases and submitting receipts for them.

A typical receipt from a trip to his local Tesco showed that he spent £7.87 on ice cream, £4.36 on bags of sweets, £3.24 on Kit Kats, £2.68 on Mars bars, £1.28 on Snickers bars, and 96p on wine gums.

On another visit he spent £5.04 on Mars bars, £3.24 on Kit Kats and £2.42 on a Pot Noodle. A separate grocery trip saw him picking up two Peperami "hot" 5 packs for £2.18 each, and spending £14.26 on biscuits, and another £3.26 on "bags of sweets".

Before entering Parliament, the MP served as an infantry officer in the Territorial Army, including with the Royal Anglian Regiment, and his hobbies include hill walking.

He claimed £1,500 per month to rent a second home in London and made very few other claims apart from food bills. The other claims did include £12.94 on toothbrushes and the purchase of three alarm clocks in the space of three years.

Mr Francois said of his claims: "Given all of the revelations over the last month I hope none of this seems particularly excessive but, like almost every other MP, I recognise that the system does need to be reformed and the quicker the better."

SNAPSHOT

Mark Francois

Job: Conservative MP for Rayleigh, shadow minister for Europe

Salary: £64,766

Total second home claims

2004-05: £19,990

2005-06: £18,509

2006-07: £20,374

2007-08: £20,689

Anne Cryer and son John both claimed for flat owned by her daughter

Ann Cryer, who is still the Labour MP for Keighley, billed the taxpayer for the cost of living in a Westminster flat owned by her daughter Jane Kilduff and her husband, which they later sold for a big profit. At the same time, her son John Cryer, then MP for Hornchurch, also claimed the additional costs allowance on the flat.

The expenses files show that in 2004, both Mrs Cryer and her son designated the flat in Westminster as their second home for the purposes of claiming the additional costs allowance. Mrs Cryer paid her daughter £1,200 a month in rent, while Mr Cryer claimed £400 a month for food.

Mr Cryer, who represented the Essex constituency, 15 miles from Westminster, until he lost the seat in the 2005 election, completed his second home claim forms without including an address.

When the fees office asked him to supply one, Mr Cryer wrote: "Further to our conversation of a few weeks ago, I confirm that I sometimes stay overnight at my sister's flat". He then gave the address of the flat also named by Mrs Cryer.

Jane and her husband David Kilduff had bought the Westminster flat in 2001 for £435,000. They sold it in 2006, for £635,000 – an uplift of £200,000.

Mrs Kilduff, known professionally by her maiden name of Jane Cryer, is the divisional Crown Prosecutor for the CPS in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.

Her husband is a partner at solicitors Walker Morris in Leeds. The law firm's website says Mr Kilduff is "a nationally recognised leader in the field of public sector law, including experience in all aspects of powers, procurement, joint ventures and, more recently, the PFI and PPP in local government, health, education and defence sectors".

Mrs Cryer granted Mr Kilduff a parliamentary pass, which allowed him access to the House of Commons. After Mrs Cryer moved out of her daughter's flat, she bought another flat in the apartment block next door for £285,000 which she designated her second home.

She then claimed £10,126 for stamp duty and legal fees relating to the purchase of the new flat. She also spent a total of £3,243 on household goods. Mrs Cryer recently showed receipts to her local newspaper and said she had put her life savings into the new flat. "I really was trying to be Mrs Virtuous," said Mrs Cryer. "It saddens me some people have stretched their claims."

Mrs Cryer took out a mortgage of £150,000 on the new flat and claimed the mortgage interest payments.

In total, Mrs Cryer, who has been an MP since 1997, claimed £82,670 in four years.

SNAPSHOT

Ann Cryer

Job: backbench Labour MP for Keighley

Salary: £64,766

Total second home claims

2004-05: £20,160

2005-06: £21,634

2006-07: £21,111

2007-08: £19,765


John Cryer

Job: former Labour MP for Hornchurch

Salary: £57,485 in 2004

Total second home claims

2004-05: £4,571

2005-06: N/A

2006-07: N/A

2007-08: N/A

Lord Archy Kirkwood did up flat on expenses, then sold it cheaply to daughter

The peer, a work and pensions spokesman, used public funds to buy carpets, curtains and bathroom furniture for his Westminster flat from stores including John Lewis and Fired Earth.

He made the purchases after announcing in April 2004 that he would retire as MP for Roxburgh and Berwickshire at the general election in May 2005. During his final year in the Commons, he claimed a total of £18,806 in allowances for the flat, which he bought for £182,500 in 2001.

These included about £670 a month to pay the interest on its mortgage. He then sold it in May 2007 to his daughter Holly, 31, a journalist for Country Life magazine, for £100,000. On Tuesday he said the flat had been valued at £225,000.

Three weeks before the sale, a flat in the same building sold for £358,000.

When he made the claims, Lord Kirkwood, then Sir Archy Kirkwood, sat on the House of Commons commission which was overseeing the first publication of basic details of MPs' expenses. As the details were published in October 2004, he said that he welcomed the fact that "taxpayers can really see how their money is being spent".

However, he dismissed suggestions that voters would be shocked by the amount of money involved. "I'm not saying it's an insignificant sum, but it's pretty small beer," he said.

Between November and December 2004, Lord Kirkwood claimed more than £3,000 for carpets and flooring for his kitchen and bathroom from John Lewis. He also claimed £94 for a lavatory paper holder and tiles from Fired Earth.

In April 2004, the month he announced his intention to step down as an MP, he claimed £200 for repairs to the flat's electrics. In June 2004, he claimed £50 for fans. In July he claimed £660 for unspecified work by a contractor.

Over the following months, he returned to John Lewis to buy a £207 bathroom cupboard and mirror, curtains for £90 and lighting worth £72.

In February 2005, he claimed £145 for a clothes rail and storage devices, £78 for kitchen stools and £56 for roller blinds. He also claimed £115 for computer equipment through his office expenses two months before he retired.

Lord Kirkwood, 63, had designated as his main home a house in Selkirk where he still lives with his wife Rosemary.

He claimed more than £63,000 in House of Lords allowances last year, including £20,019 on overnight subsistence: the Lords' equivalent of second home allowances.

He claimed £11,419 in "day subsistence" allowances, £11,419 in office running costs and £9,741 in travel costs.

Lord Kirkwood, who was knighted for services to Parliament in 2003, was one of five Lib Dem MPs put forward for peerages by Charles Kennedy, the then party leader, after the 2005 election. He announced his retirement after it was decided that his seat should merge with that of Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale, which was held by Michael Moore, a fellow Lib Dem.

Lord Kirkwood said yesterday: "When I sold the flat to my daughter a professional valuation was secured on the property. It was valued at £225,000. This was declared for capital gains.

"The fuse box and wiring system was unsafe and needed to be replaced. There were some costs of relaying flooring in parts of the property."

SNAPSHOT

Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope

Job: Former Lib Dem MP for Roxburgh and Berwickshire

Salary: £57,485 in 2004

Total second home claims

2004-05: £18,806

2005-06: £372

2006-07: N/A

2007-08: N/A

Alice Mahon's £20,000 loan for new doors, paid off by the public

Alice Mahon had been a member of the Labour Party for more than half a century

Alice Mahon, who represented Halifax, West Yorkshire, from 1987 until 2005, applied for the loan in order to fit security doors and new bolts on her London second home following a burglary.

She sought permission from the fees office in 2001 to put the monthly repayments of £400 on her second home allowance, and received a total of at least £17,000 before standing down at the 2005 election.

Notes on her files show that by 2004 officials considered that the arrangement was not within the rules, but because it had been originally approved, they decided that they were obliged to continue. They also said that they had lost the original files showing that the loan repayments had been approved.

In July 2004, one official wrote: "We would not authorise a note of this sort now, but it is plausible that we could have done so in 2001."

Another replied: "I would be content to carry on with the payments."

Mrs Mahon, who resigned from Labour in April in protest at the Damian McBride smears row, continues to own the house in Kennington, south London, which she designated as her second home.

She paid off the mortgage within weeks of leaving the Commons, having claimed £219 a month in mortgage interest on her expenses until then, and now rents the property out to tenants.

A sufferer from age-related macular degeneration, which has left her bind in one eye and with significant sight loss in the other, Mrs Mahon said that she let out the house in order to pay for her treatment after her request for NHS care was turned down.

She fought a high-profile campaign at the High Court against Calderdale Primary Care Trust, which refused her treatment that could have stabilised or potentially improved her condition.

Mrs Mahon said that she was justified in retaining the property after standing down because she had contributed some of her own money as a deposit when she bought it, and because it would have been more expensive to rent a similar property nearby.

She added: "When I became involved in the eye campaign to try to get treatment on the NHS for age-related macular degeneration – I had left Parliament then – I invited the press into my flat, where I made a specific point of telling them that even someone on an MP's pension would have difficulty paying £1,700 per injection for my condition and, therefore, I was letting my flat for a short period to pay for the treatment. I believe at all times I have followed both the spirit and the letter of the rules for claiming expenses during my years as an MP."

Mrs Mahon added that she was unaware that the Commons fees office did not consider that the loan was within the rules.

She said: "The loan for security after the burglary was agreed by the fees office and their note simply says they have agreed to pay the claim. They never challenged my claim and I was not aware that they had lost the original documentation.

"I did look at other properties in the area close to where I lived in London to see if I could get something more secure but the rents were astronomical, over £1,200 a month. I decided it was much cheaper to have the security work done and stay where I was."

SNAPSHOT

Alice Mahon

Job: former Labour MP for Halifax

Salary: £57,485 in 2004

Total second home claims

2004-05: £17,563

2005-06: N/A

2006-07: N/A

2007-08: N/A

Bob Ainsworth's repairs cost the taxpayer £5,925

Bob Ainsworth, the Armed Forces Minister

Bob Ainsworth, the MP for Coventry North East, also tried to claim £2,225 for a sofa and £1,000 for a LCD Samsung television, both of which were reduced by the fees office.

According to the Green Book of parliamentary rules, MPs are not allowed to claim “the capital cost of repairs which go beyond making good dilapidations and enhance the property”.

In files seen by The Daily Telegraph, Mr Ainsworth submitted two invoices for £8,025 in July 2005, which detailed work to be carried out on the property.

The invoices included removing a wall between the sitting room and study and adding “support with oak beam”, supplying and fitting oak beams to the ceilings, “hacking” off Artex, the swirling ceiling plaster popular in the 1970s, and removing pipes at the side of the fire.

The work also “exposed brickwork to the fireplace and constructed archway for fire”, while carrying out brickwork “for support of railway sleeper”.

Describing the internal work, the invoice added: “Decorate on completion in style and colours of your choice.” The invoices also included electrical work, preparing floors for laminate, fitting a drain gully, supplying and fitting pine doors, as well as installing a 6ft by 3ft gate “with good quality locks” and constructing a 6ft by 12ft fence.

On Tuesday, the MP said he had only claimed for necessary repair work and had reduced the bill to £5,925 to avoid claiming for capital improvements.

In April 2006, Mr Ainsworth submitted a further £951 bill for fencing and in August charged £1,160 for a gas fire.

That same year, he was told by officials he could not claim £1,000 for a Samsung LCD television because he had exceeded the “recommended maximum”.

In August, the minister wrote to the fees office to explain why he was claiming £2,225 for a Roma corner sofa.

He said: “If you feel this is excessive can I say that due to size and layout of the room a normal three-piece suite will not fit. This 'corner group’ fits perfectly and maximises the space.”

But in October, the fees office told him again the claim was greater than the “recommended maximum”.

In February 2007, Mr Ainsworth claimed £2,000 to re-point part of the property and two months later submitted a third claim for fencing worth £4,500.

Between May 2005 and April 2007, he claimed a total of £19,920 in renovations, repairs, furniture and electrical equipment. He also submitted regular claims for the maximum monthly food allowance of £400 and monthly bills of £45 for dry cleaning.

At the end of 2007, Mr Ainsworth switched his designated second home to a flat in London, which he rented from Lady Grylls, the mother of adventurer Bear Grylls, and claimed a monthly rent of £1,208.

In 2007-8, the minister was the joint highest claimant for second home allowances, claiming the maximum amount of £23,083.

On Tuesday, Mr Ainsworth said he had acted entirely within the spirit and letter of the rules.

Referring to the £5,925 bill, he said: “I claimed some of this amount for repair and redecoration work.

“The repair work included: refitting a damp floor; the removal of a dangerous chimney and corroding pipe work; rewiring unsafe electrical cables; and the redecoration of two rooms, the study and lounge. As permitted by the rules.

“I paid for the work which covered the improvements made to my home. I paid this money because under the rules I did not believe that I was entitled to claim for improvements.”

Mr Ainsworth said he accepted the cap on his claims for the television and sofa, had replaced the gas fire because it was dangerous and claimed for dry cleaning and food as was permitted under the rules.

“Along with most of my colleagues, I recognise that the allowance system for MPs is now completely discredited and needs to be swiftly replaced,” he added.

“I can state in all honesty that I acted within the spirit and letter of the rules. However the problem is, of course, that the rules were not good rules.

“We now must act to change this.”

Bob Ainsworth

Job: Minister of State for the Armed Forces and Labour MP for Coventry North East

Salary: £104,050

Total second home claims

2004-05: £19,275

2005-06: £18,911

2006-07: £18,878

2007-08: £23,083

Hazel Blears' resignation 'due to capital gains tax avoidance on another property'

Hazel Blears: Communities secretary has stood down from the Cabinet

The property allegedly involved had previously been declared as her second home for the purpose of claiming parliamentary expenses.

It is understood that the Communities Secretary was concerned that it might be disclosed that there was another property deal from which she gained.

The Telegraph has learned that the £13,000 that Miss Blears repaid voluntarily last month, in the wake of expenses disclosures about the sale of her Kennington flat, was not allegedly to cover just one property.

It is understood that a Cabinet Office compliance unit looking at ministers’ arrangements has uncovered another property sale in which Miss Blears declared the property as her primary residence for tax purposes while at the same time telling the Commons authorities that it was her designated second home.

She was apparently concerned that the full details would soon emerge - possibly as early as today.

The Telegraph last month sparked the controversy surrounding Miss Blears when we disclosed that she sold a property in Kennington, south London, in August 2004 for £200,000, making a profit of £45,000. She had designated that property as her second home for parliamentary expenses purposes.

The “flipping” of properties involved is not against the law or the rules governing MPs’ expenses claims, but Gordon Brown called her behaviour “totally unacceptable.”

Miss Blears confirmed on May 12 that she did not pay capital gains tax (CGT) on the profit from the sale because "no liability" had arisen.

But in an effort to shore up her Cabinet position she went before television cameras and wrote a cheque for £13,000. She has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

It was presumed that the amount was for the Kennington flat, but that allegedly is not the case.

The disclosure that the £13,000 allegedly included “back tax” for another “flipped” property deal will lead many to suspect that she resigned today before the details were disclosed.

The resignation of Miss Blears has deepened the political crisis now engulfing Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister.

Dealing a fresh blow to Mr Brown’s fragile political authority in the wake of the MPs' expenses scandal, Miss Blears said in her resignation statement today that the Labour Party has lost its connection with the British people.

“I have told the Prime Minsiter I am resigning from the Government,” Miss Blears said. “I am returning to the grassroots. I want to help the Labour Party to reconnect with the British people.

"My politics has always been rooted in the belief that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things.

"The role of a progressive Government should be to pass power to the people.

"I want to help the Labour Party to reconnect with the British people, to remind them that our values are their values, that their hopes and dreams are ours too."

Today's statement was notable for the absence of any expression of backing for the Prime Minister.

David Cameron, the Tory leader, taunted Mr Brown in the Commons today at prime minister's questions, saying his command over his Cabinet had "simply disappeared".

Mr Cameron accused the premier of being "in denial" in the wake of the resignation of Miss Blears and other ministerial departures.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Theresa May said the Government was no longer capable of governing and that a General Election was now essential.

"The Government has no answer. They are racked by infighting and they are unable to deal with the real issues that matter to people," she told the BBC News channel. "We need a General Election."

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said the Government was in its "death throes".

Gordon Brown “respects and understands” Hazel Blears’ decision to quit the Cabinet and believes she made “an outstanding contribution to public life”, said a Downing Street spokesman.

Miss Blears told Mr Brown of her decision to quit at a face-to-face meeting this morning.

The spokesman added: "She will be replaced very shortly."

Miss Blears' move followed confirmation that Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, will step down from the Cabinet at the reshuffle. Two other minsters, Tom Watson and Beverley Hughes, have also said they are quitting.

Miss Blears has been a public critic of the Prime Minister, and there is now intense speculation that she will attack him from the backbenches.