Brown outlines plans to clean up Parliament

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today set out plans for urgent legislative action to clean up Parliament in the wake of the expenses scandal.

Mr Brown told the House of Commons that legislation will be published before MPs rise for their summer break next month to create an independent regulator of Parliament and a code of conduct for MPs’ behaviour.

Admitting that the current sanctions for MPs who overclaim expenses are “not fit for purpose”, Mr Brown said he would consult on new powers to remove MPs guilty of gross financial misconduct from Parliament or force them to face re-election.

In a statement to the Commons, Mr Brown revealed that receipts for all MPs’ expenses will be published on the Internet within the next few days, and said future receipts will be made public as a matter of routine.

Insisting that he believes the vast majority of MPs “are in politics not for what they can get but for what they can give”, Mr Brown said: “In the midst of all the rancour and recrimination, let us seize the moment to lift our politics to a higher standard.”

Mr Brown also said he would publish proposals by the summer for the final stage of reform of the House of Lords, including the removal of all hereditary peers and the creation of an 80%-100% elected second chamber.

Conservative leader David Cameron responded that the best way to ensure democratic renewal was to call an immediate general election.