Shrewsbury’s MP will publish his expenses on the internet, despite a warning from a member of his party who claims those that do could leave themselves open to fraud.
Town MP Daniel Kawczynski, who was due to release details of his expenses last Friday told the Chronicle he would publish four years’ worth of expenses on his official website ahead of the House of Commons’ publication of all MPs’ expenses on June 22.
But north Shropshire Tory MP Owen Paterson said a premature release of the information could allow ‘computer geeks’ to get hold of personal details which could be used to commit fraud.
He said: “We have agreed to publish all our expenses but with sensitive information – addresses and so on – blacked out, or redacted. But apparently some clever computer geeks can strip off the redaction. If I were to publish my expenses and that happened I would be liable for anything that happened afterwards. The Commons will publish the expenses of all MPs on June 22 and so I will wait until then, and then if there are any problems the Commons will be liable.”
Mr Kawczynski said he was not concerned about computer hackers gleaning his personal information because he had found a way of blocking their access. He said: “I’ve put a spreadsheet together on my expenses which I’m hoping to put on my website before June 22. There’s a lot of work in transferring information from files into spreadsheets so that people can’t access private information and bank details.
“But I’ve got them and I want to make sure they’re on show. It will be in a tabulated format to prevent people from picking things out.”
The Daily Telegraph revealed recently that Mr Kawczynski earns £64,766 a year and claimed £20,060 for his rented London flat from 2005/06, £22,060 for 2006/07 and £21,980 for 2007/08.
It also reported he claimed £70 for a chest of drawers, £109 for an armchair and £142 for a table. At a public meeting earlier this month, the MP said he was not prepared to reveal the salaries of private citizens but he admitted he pays his wife £20,000 a year to run both his offices. He gave up his London flat last year ‘to save taxpayers’ money’.
