British MEPs won’t stop the nepotism

The British Parliament is still sorting throught the political damage from its expense account scandal, as Labour MP Elliot Morely today became the 13th MP to stand down, after claiming £16,000 for a mortgage that did not exist. No one seems to have told the British members of the European Parliament to clean up their books, though. The Times of London reports:

More than a third of British MEPs are paying their relatives hundreds of thousands of pounds, despite a ban by the European Parliament next month on employing family members.

The wives, husbands and children of MEPs are earning up to £40,000 a year to work as secretaries and researchers at a total annual cost to taxpayers of more than £700,000.

British MEPs have known for some time that these practices aren’t exactly legal. The European ban beginning at the end of the month was enacted a full year ago specifically because of British MEPs paying their family members. Last May, the Daily Mail wrote:

Following the revelation that some MEPs were funneling up to GBP 12,000 a month  to assistants without providing proof that they were doing any work at all, the  parliament has decided to put an end to nepotism completely from next year for all Euro MPs. 

Around 80% of the GBP 106million spent on assistants’ salaries annually is not  supported by adequate receipts, parliament auditors found, raising suspicions  that MEPs were either pocketing the money themselves or keeping it in the family.

Think they’ll get the message now?

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