Expenses row mysteries

Many MPs, with steam coming out of their ears, have avidly been reading the press reports concerning John Wick, security expert (whom some paranoid Labour MPs are accusing of being involved with MI6), and Henry Gewanter, PR man. These reports in the Times, Wall St Journal, and the Mail, among others, suggest that these two gentlemen are in some way involved in the peddling of information on MPs expenses to the press, mysteriously downloaded to a ‘larger than one terrabyte’ disk from communications systems in the Fees Office, smuggled through the House of Commons security system.

Several UK newspapers have stated that they have been conducting investigative pursuits in order to find the other personnel down the chain, leading to the individuals who downloaded the data originally. MPs have been frustrated by the absence of information on the link between Mr Wick and Mr Gewanter, and puzzled by the publication of names in the Wall Street Journal.

My word some MPs are a dim lot. The press know perfectly well who to ask about all this to glean potential snippets of hints (for example Jonathan Rush and Peter Rose – not that either have the answers MPs want) but they don’t want to risk overshadowing the main story.  So that’s my initial contribution to the tittle tattle side of the debate. My next post will be on more serious governmental reform issues. Now what was that website I was studying …. ahh yes….. http://www.contingencytoday.com  …..