[Crimson Dynamo]

This clown has to be sacked and quickly

David Laws, the man in charge of slashing public spending, was under pressure to resign this afternoon after it was revealed that he funnelled £40,000 of taxpayers' money to his secret gay lover.

The Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury is facing a sleaze inquiry after he claimed up to £950 a month in expenses for five years which was paid in rent to his partner.

Mr Laws was last night confronted with evidence that he could have breached Parliamentary rules on expenses, which ban MPs from renting from spouses or lovers.

He issued an apology and announced he would 'immediately' pay back tens of thousands of pounds claimed for rent and other housing costs.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz0pL1cnVIH

[BB_Eye]

I guess this goes to show how poorly politicians -those natural creatures of underhanded deals and white collar criminality- have adapted to a post-Freedom of Information Act environment, even now that a year has passed since the amendment bill was thrown out the dirt was dished. They just don't learn.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by BB_Eye

I guess this goes to show how poorly politicians -those natural creatures of underhanded deals and white collar criminality- have adapted to a post-Freedom of Information Act environment, even now that a year has passed since the amendment bill was thrown out the dirt was dished. They just don't learn.

correct

[arista]

He has said he is to Stand Down.


He has Resigned.





Live on SkyNewsHD.

[WOMBAI]

Good - that sort of greed and dishonesty is not fit to be in the job!

[ElProximo]

Let me get this right...

He was caught with a 'rent boy' or some kind of male he keeps for sexual gratification. Really?

Great.. well that is nice to know the public was paying for his 'cabana boy' so he could stop over for homosexual romps on the weekends.
Not sure how it worked.
We will never know.
Unfortunately he is not having an affair with a single woman - and even better if he was a Conservative - then we would hear NO END of every detail highly exaggerated and made as sleazy as possible.

Instead I think we hear nothing at all and almost everyone will pretend they never even noticed the 'gay part' of this at all.

I can't decided what is more interesting in these stories - the actual story itself or the awkward and weird PC gymnastics done in reporting it and dealing with it?

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by ElProximo

Let me get this right...

He was caught with a 'rent boy' or some kind of male he keeps for sexual gratification. Really?

Great.. well that is nice to know the public was paying for his 'cabana boy' so he could stop over for homosexual romps on the weekends.
Not sure how it worked.
We will never know.
Unfortunately he is not having an affair with a single woman - and even better if he was a Conservative - then we would hear NO END of every detail highly exaggerated and made as sleazy as possible.

Instead I think we hear nothing at all and almost everyone will pretend they never even noticed the 'gay part' of this at all.

I can't decided what is more interesting in these stories - the actual story itself or the awkward and weird PC gymnastics done in reporting it and dealing with it?

everyone thinks it and no one says it

ah, i smell progress

[MojoNixon]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

This clown has to be sacked and quickly

David Laws, the man in charge of slashing public spending, was under pressure to resign this afternoon after it was revealed that he funnelled £40,000 of taxpayers' money to his secret gay lover.

The Liberal Democrat Chief Secretary to the Treasury is facing a sleaze inquiry after he claimed up to £950 a month in expenses for five years which was paid in rent to his partner.

Mr Laws was last night confronted with evidence that he could have breached Parliamentary rules on expenses, which ban MPs from renting from spouses or lovers.

He issued an apology and announced he would 'immediately' pay back tens of thousands of pounds claimed for rent and other housing costs.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz0pL1cnVIH

Maybe it was Rodrigo???

[Shasown]

I dont think his sexuality made him breach the rules just it was incidental in him being able to do so.

I wonder how long it will be before he does a Mandelson and reappears on the front benches?

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Shasown

I dont think his sexuality made him breach the rules just it was incidental in him being able to do so.

I wonder how long it will be before he does a Mandelson and reappears on the front benches?

The whole secretive thing makes him vulnerable. I just wonder when he was given this job what he was thinking, if I can see that what he was up to was suspect them ffs why cant he with his double first at cambridge?

[eye sea]

I don't think he's done anything wrong at all. His only crime is that he didn't tell anyone he is gay.

All he did was take £900 per month to pay his lover his half of the flat's rent. So what? At least he didn't take A MILLION QUID from the taxpayer to buy a house which he would keep for life. Like that thief and rogue, Jacqui Smith did.


Shamed thief and rogue Jacqui Smith

[Crimson Dynamo]

why did he resign then?

[BB_Eye]

eye sea has a point, Laws didn't profit from this and the secretiveness of it was the only problem. I do wonder what he declared to have used those expenses for though.

[Angus]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

why did he resign then?

Maybe because he's an intensely private person who doesn't see the need to share salacious details about his sexuality with the world, and he didn't want a media frenzy around his private life impacting on the new coalition. Shame, because, despite being a LibDem, he seems to be a decent and honourable bloke, a rare thing in politics these days.

[Shasown]

He claimed the expenses as rent and living allowances, what he didnt do when he claimed was informed them the person who he was supposed to be paying the rent to was in fact his boyfriend.

Partners and spouses etc cant receive rent it looks like the money is being used for the benefit of those in the relationship. A fact he was aware of. Yet he still claimed. Jail him, its still theft.

Imagine if one of us plebs was accused of taking 40 grand off out employers illegally.

[WOMBAI]

Originally Posted by angus58

Maybe because he's an intensely private person who doesn't see the need to share salacious details about his sexuality with the world, and he didn't want a media frenzy around his private life impacting on the new coalition. Shame, because, despite being a LibDem, he seems to be a decent and honourable bloke, a rare thing in politics these days.

Sorry - but honourable - he stole £40k - not my idea of honourable!

I suspect if he had been part of the Labour government - you would be singing a different tune!

[ElProximo]

Originally Posted by Shasown

Imagine if one of us plebs was accused of taking 40 grand off out employers illegally.

This annoys me too. the average 'pleb' would be looking at severe penalties including repayment and probably even some kind of conviction and permanent record.

[Crimson Dynamo]

the gay thing is a pathetic smokescreen, he fiddled and he was about to tell THE WHOLE COUNTRY that they need to make huge savings

he knew what he did and he thought that "the little people" ie us need not know

[AndyJK]

He should have disclosed it all when the expenses scandal was first exposed during the last parliament and to have drawn a line under it then.

Shame as he seemed to be doing well.