英国"报销门"愈演愈烈

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自从英国《每日电讯报》8日首先捅出英国议员涉嫌骗取额外补贴的丑闻以来，“骗补门”事件愈演愈烈。英国政坛因此遭遇了一场“强震”，越来越多的议员卷入其中，各大政党都未能幸免。

据英国媒体统计，英国646名下院议员去年在年薪以外共获大约9300万英镑（1.4亿美元）额外补贴。16日，英国工党议员戴维蔡特因违规报销费用遭到停职，此前已有3名工党和保守党议员因“骗补门”事件付出停职或辞职的代价。英国女王明确表示对这一事件感到很“闹心”，伦敦警察局已联合检察部门成立一个特别小组，评估针对议员滥用津贴的相关控诉。

Just the latest episode in the Telegraph investigation into MPs' expenses. It transpires that Sir Peter Viggers had made some pretty hefty expenses claim for gardening expenses, including one particular claim that I'm told you didn't get passed the fees office: a 1,300 pounds claim for a 'duck island' for a pond, whatever that might be. This evening he has announced his intention to step down at the next general election. And his intention, quite clearly, though, coming because of the direct intervention in all of this by David Cameron.

I'm told this evening when the Conservative Party, when Mr. Cameron were made aware of the allegations in the Telegraph story. And Mr. Cameron went to him and said: well, either you step down at the next general election or you have the whip removed, a very, very serious situation, quite clearly, as the Conservative leader wished to get on top of this as soon as possible. Sir Peter Viggers is one of the grandees of Labour a grandee of Conservative Party, he was...he has been an MP since 1974, and was a minister under Margaret Thatcher's government, but really has been on the backbench since 1989.

And tonight he accepts the fact that the sum he was quoted that he was claiming, one Conservative insider described them to me as very large indeed in terms of garden expenses. He recognizes that those wealth within the rules certainly aren’t what the public wish to see at the moment, so yet another casualty of this ongoing expenses row, on the day when we’ve heard from Harriet Harman, the Leader of the House，those changes to the system which she wants to put, which she sees, as perhaps putting parliament above reproach, quite clearly the story still has some way to run.

Yes, the three Conservative MPs are now saying they are not gonna stand the next election, and continuing pressure on Cabinet minister Hazel Blears.