Conservative leader David Cameron has launched a "deep clean" of expense claims by his party's MEPs, which, he said, would bring new transparency and honesty to the system.And he warned that anyone refusing to sign up to a new code on allowances would not be permitted to stand as a Tory candidate in next year's elections to the European Parliament.
Mr Cameron's move came a few weeks after the former leader and chief whip of the Conservative group in Brussels lost their positions amid a row over payments to their families from the public purse.
Mr Cameron said that controls on expenses at the European Parliament were "inadequate" and that his own party would operate a more stringent code than that applying to other MEPs. He urged Labour and the Liberal Democrats to follow his lead.
Under the new rules, coming into effect on September 1, Conservative MEPs will be required to publish the names of any family members they employ and their approximate salary, as well as details of any other staff members paid from public funds.
Twice each year, Tory MEPs will be required to publish a breakdown of their expenditure under European Parliament allowances on the internet.
Unveiling the new code at a London press conference, Mr Cameron said the current system under which MEPs rarely have to account for the money they claim is "unacceptable".
Mr Cameron said he had agreed the new rules with the acting leader of the Tory group in Brussels, Philip Bushell-Matthews, who would be signing up to the code along with the "vast majority" of the party's MEPs.
But he acknowledged that negotiations with his sleaze-buster, Hugh Thomas, had been "robust" at times and some MEPs who plan to step down at next June's elections may choose not to sign up.
He said that current European Parliament investigations into the party's former leader in Brussels, Giles Chichester, and chief whip Den Dover should be allowed to take their course, although he indicated he was ready to take action if wrongdoing was uncovered.
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