Deputy First Minister faces Police inquiry over fiddled mortgage expenses claims as more revelations on msps property deals come to light.

A fiddle or a muddle ? .. but when it comes to the Scottish Parliament, a muddle is always a fiddle .. and that's how one person viewed Deputy First Minister Nichol Stephen's claims for mortgage interest payments from the Parliament, as a member of the public has made a complaint to Lothian & Borders Police, asking for an investigation into the affair - reports the Sunday Herald newspaper.

Of course, it has taken a member of the public to ask for that step .. as it seems there are no MSPs able to 'cast the first stone' these days ... with virtually everyone at Holyrood having some dark secret in their closet, and being too terrified of revelations on their own conduct coming out in tit for tat leaks - don't worry - plenty more to come out, people !

I wonder how Lothian & Borders Police will handle the investigation ? Another whitewash perhaps ? Ultimately, they can only do what they are told to do ... and the force being as politicised as it is now, I doubt we will end up with a situation where Stephen & a host of other MSPs who have fiddled their expenses & failed to declare income, interests & more, will be carted off in the Black Maria (YES!)

I don't have particularly fond memories of the way Lothian & Borders Police handle investigations ... I remember, for instance, one time when a major drugs investigation was underway in Jedburgh, using my own home as a base for surveillence, a tabloid journalist called me one day to ask the motives of a serving CID officer under the Detective Chief Inspector of CID in "G" Division at Hawick at the time, who was ratting out his own [married] boss for having an affair with a [married] victim of a burglary he had once 'interviewed'. This, and a lot of other things I took note of at the time, including [still serving] senior Officers seemingly out to get their own PCs for making suggestions to the public, led me to believe the Force was fighting itself .. so much that it botched that particular drugs op and left Jedburgh awash with drugs .. to this day it seems. I have still to write about all this sometime ...

There is also the not-so-good record of Lothian & Borders Police at the Scottish Parliament .. on everything from stolen laptops to allegedly stolen cellular phones (all inside jobs by Parliamentary Staff, apparently .. no one caught yet of course) . and then there is the well known cocaine den at Holyrood, where some staff seem to be in an almost permanent haze of the white stuff. Frightening, one would think .. but all allowed to go on right under everyone's noses, as it were. or is it up everyone's noses, I forget .. with all the leaks to leak these days.

Maybe we need to call in Taggart or Hamish MacBeth on this one ... for a wee bit of impartiality ?

Anyway, not to be outdone by the LibDems - who really need chucking out of Scottish politics .. the Guardian & Observer (yes, ENGLISH newspapers) are reporting on the deeds of former & current SNP MSPs and a Green MSP, which it is only fair to report, because it shows there are a lot of the MSPs at it, at the Scottish Parliament.

Well, it will be interesting to see if the Police are allowed to do an investigation .. and even if Stephen is investigated - surely along with several other MSPs ... how will the Crown Office react ? Will they receive political orders to drop the case as Stephen is a Minister in the Scottish Executive ? ... same going for other MSPs who undoubtably should be investigated such as John Home Robertson ... no prosecutions because they are members of the governing party ?

Only time will tell .. but of course, more revelations to come of course ... and next time Mr Stephen .. instead of being kissy kissy with the likes of Tom McMorrow & ICAS, ... please take note of what members of the public have warned you about. Resolving a few issues would save a lot of headlines, you know.

UPDATE 27 November : The Scotsman are covering the Stephen expenses story here : Deputy first minister faces police inquiry over expenses

Also, to answer questions on my interest in Nichol Stephen's expenses fiddle, which came out of ICAS claims to the press, back in July, of getting the OK on amendments which run contrary to my campaign regarding regulation of legal complaints in the LPLA Bill, read this :
Scottish Accountants try to amend LPLA Bill for their own benefit - but refuse independent regulation safeguards for the consumer

Links from the Sunday Herald and Guardian to follow :

http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.1042292.0.0.php

Stephen faces police probe on mortgage
By Paul Hutcheon

THE DEPUTY First Minister is facing a police probe into a breach of Holyrood expenses guidelines that resulted in him receiving around £50,000 in mortgage payments charged to the taxpayer.

Lothian and Borders police have been asked to investigate why Nicol Stephen, the Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, gave inaccurate information to parliament about a loan he took out on a property in Edinburgh.

Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan is also threatening to take the matter to Holyrood's standards committee.

The row follows the Sunday Herald's revelation last week that Stephen, who is also the Scottish Executive enterprise minister, is billing the taxpayer for mortgage interest payments on a house jointly owned with his wife. He has been charging the public almost £9000 a year through the Edinburgh accommodation allowance (EAA) to stay in a house in Morningside, despite rules blocking payments for joint mortgages.

Stephen failed to tell the parliament in 2003 that his mortgage was taken out with his wife and instead submitted a document which only had his name on it, thus entitling him to the payments.

The revelations prompted Stephen to inform officials about the false information he provided just hours after the Sunday Herald story came out.

The parliament's corporate body, which runs Holyrood, ruled on Thursday that Stephen had "failed to follow the guidelines" on allowances and slapped the MSP on the wrist. But Holyrood stopped short of calling on Stephen to pay back the near £50,000, as members ruled he had not intended to break the guidelines.

Stephen accepted his error but claimed he had not benefited financially. The deputy First Minister said he would transfer the property into his name, a move that will entitle him to keep claiming the payments.

However, a member of the public has urged police to investigate the Minister's role in providing false information to the parliament. The letter of complaint calls on officers in Lothian and Borders police to examine whether an "error" was committed and why the LibDem leader declined to inform parliament he had a joint mortgage.

And Tommy Sheridan said: "I am going to write to the presiding officer, George Reid, because I think it is wrong that people who receive the allowance judge whether another member who received the EAA broke the rules. If he doesn't do anything about it I will refer it to the standards committee."

A Scottish Liberal Democrats spokesman said last night: "There is no question of gain to Mr Stephen or his wife and no cost to the parliament. The parliamentary authorities have made it clear that there has been no improper use of allowances."

and now the Guardian website reports on msps property transactions ...

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/scotland/story/0,,1957465,00.html

MSPs buy and sell houses - and taxpayer pays

Politicians defend profitable Holyrood perk after Nationalist makes nearly £40,000 on flat

Lorna Martin, Scotland editor
Sunday November 26, 2006
The Observer http://www.observer.co.uk

Calls to scrap the accommodation allowance for MSPs were stepped up last night after it emerged that members of the Scottish Parliament were buying and selling taxpayer-funded properties to each other and keeping the profits.

The Observer has learned that Andrew Wilson, the former Nationalist MSP, made nearly £40,000 when he sold his Edinburgh flat to Nationalist MSP Rob Gibson and his partner, the Green MSP Eleanor Scott, after losing his seat in the 2003 elections. All three have billed the public for mortgage interest payments on the same property.

Wilson bought the flat in May 2000 for £92,000 and sold it more than three years later for £130,000. He qualified for the housing perk because he lived too far away to commute daily to Edinburgh. Land registry documents show that when he was an MSP, Wilson was registered as living in Milngavie, Glasgow, at a property owned by the parents of his friend Duncan Hamilton, another former Nationalist MSP.

When Wilson sold his Edinburgh flat to Gibson and Scott, they started to claim mortgage interest payments on the property. It will now be worth significantly more than the £130,000 they paid.

While there is no suggestion the politicians have broken any rules, it highlights the money-making potential of the housing allowances for MSPs.

Last night Gibson said Scots were getting their MSPs 'dirt-cheap'. He said he would welcome an independent review but insisted the current system was effective and efficient.

'If you add up the costs of those who rent or those who stay in hotels, buying is by far the cheapest option,' he said. 'When Andrew [Wilson] was selling his place the market was very buoyant, but who knows what it might be like in four years?

Gibson added: 'What has also not been mentioned are the capital costs, such as furniture, we are required to make for a second home. I would welcome an independent review as it would reveal the comments of Tommy Sheridan and the tabloid suggestion that this is a money-making scheme to be inaccurate.' Dr Scott accepted that there was a public perception issue regarding the allowance. 'It is important that MSPs are not making rules to suit themselves,' she said. 'That is why the Greens have tabled a motion asking for a completely independent review of all MSPs' expenses and allowances. I'd be happy to adhere to whatever they come up with.'

Modelled on the Westminster system, Holyrood's accommodation allowance permits MSPs to claim rent or mortgage interest payments on a property in Edinburgh, or to stay in a hotel. Annual payments through the allowance are capped at about £11,000. The scheme also permits recipients to claim for council tax, as well as for a television licence and bills.

On Friday, it emerged that Deputy First Minister Nicol Stephen had broken Holyrood guidelines after claiming thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money to buy a home in Edinburgh, on which he had a joint mortgage in place. The Scottish Parliamentary Body said the rules stated that MSPs were only entitled to reimbursement of mortgages in their own name after 2001. However, it accepted that Stephen had made no financial gain and that the claim had been made in error.

At least 48 MSPs have profited from the mortgage interest scheme, which has cost the taxpayer about £2m since 1999. The main complaint about the perk is that it allows MSPs to buy properties with public cash and then keep the profits when a flat is sold.

Also controversial is the practice of renting from relatives. Labour MSP John Home Robertson has been billing the public £600 a month to stay in his son's flat while Transport Minister Tavish Scott admitted billing the taxpayer to stay at his sister's flat.

Scott used taxpayer's money to help buy a £100,000 flat, made a £36,000 profit, and then used that to help buy a £300,000 family home. He now bills the taxpayer £1,000 a month for that.

Tommy Sheridan, the Solidarity MSP and a long-time critic of the scheme, called for all MSPs who have financially gained to repay any profits.

In a statement on his website, he said: 'There should be no profit made on expenses from the taxpayer and anyone who has made a profit, or is about to, should do the decent thing and give it back.'

Earlier this month, the parliament's presiding officer said the scheme would be reviewed after attracting heavy criticism.

Deputy First Minister guilty of expenses fiddle - Wrist slapped & told not to do it again.

Firstly, let me congratulate Mary McDonald of Glasgow, for winning her battle against Glasgow Housing Association who terrorised her with a court case over a £277 repair bill which was due to thugs regularly vandalising her tenement block.

In a quote from the Scotsman report you can read here: OAP wins legal fight after being charged for vandalism - "Sheriff Martin Jones QC brought cheers from her supporters as he found in her favour. He agreed GHA had let down Mrs McDonald - and that she should not have to stump up the cash."

I think Mrs McDonald should be entitled to some compensation from the GHA over their actions towards her. What a disgrace, to terrorise a pensioner with a court case, over something which was no fault of her own, and I hear the GHA lawyers really sunk their teeth into this case. The GHA must have felt they were in 'legal bully heaven', taking on an 86 year old lady who was the sole home owner in a tenement.

What was the real motive ? Take poor Mrs McDonald to court for years so they might be able to force the sale of her flat to pay the legal bills of a case which she might not win, and the GHA would end up with the property ?... It's been done before, you know ... oh yes .. a regular tactic is this.

Well Done Mary McDonald, and well done to all your supporters.

Now back to today's article on the lurid goings on at Holyrood by way of milking the expenses.

Some people have been asking me if the recent stream of news related to MSPs fiddling their expenses for mortgage payments & dodgy house purchase deals, might be linked to the forthcoming vote on the Legal Profession & Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill.

Well, one could say .. Yes .. to that one, but not just because of the LPLA Bill ... it seems that some are taking revenge for both the Executive & Parliament's interest in certain areas of legal & public life, shall we say ? However, what has come out so far, on the expenses fiddles, isn't anything which hasn't been known about for awhile ...

Since the LPLA Bill was announced earlier this year, the likes of the Law Society of Scotland, and it's regulatory allies, have been collating as much information on all msps as possible. Ah .. you say I rant on this one ? Not at all .. It seems that a request was put out to all solicitors, Solicitor Property Centres, & Estate Agents, for information on property transactions involving Scotlands politicians .. and also, their legal affairs .. to name but a few points of interest being taken in oor politicians.

How do I know this ? One of the memos was read out to me, as it passed through a legal firm I have a source with. I'm sure some MSPs now know what I am talking about - after all, they aren't stupid. I'm sure they worked out awhile ago, their property transaction details ended up, shall we say, less than confidential ? .. and fell into the hands of certain people who are going to be seriously curtailed in power by oncoming legislation ... motive enough, I say .. and a plot almost worthy of a movie, if it didn't have so many leaks. I wonder, for instance what JHR would do if I told him that certain lawyers were babbling his legal business all over town ?

On the subject of leaks, there arrived a plain brown envelope on my desk this week, containing information & photographs on none other than, David McLetchie. Ah .. my old friend McLetchie from Tods Murray Solicitors - the legal firm which was first assigned to defend crooked lawyer Andrew 'Fraudster' Penman of Stormonth Darling Solicitors, Kelso .. thus giving me an interest in Mr McLetchie's career.

Obviously, someone wants to ruin Mr McLetchie's political career, and knowing how I feel about his legal firm's interference in the Penman case, along with McLetchie replacing the galant Mr Gallie on the Justice 1 "Regulation of the Legal Profession" inquiry in 2001, because Phil was going to ask some hard questions of the Law Society, they assume I will do the dirty deed and leak it. Oh well, why not leak it then.. but there is a time for everything, as they say.

Anyway, I see Nichol Stephen was,found guilty, of his mortgage expenses fiddle, so I will briefly cover that one today. Read my earlier article here : Scottish Parliament withholds documents as Deputy First Minister faces allegations of questionable mortgage arrangements.

Try making a false claim to the Benefits Agency .. and you may find yourself with a fine, or even jail .. but what happens when the Deputy First Minister fiddles his mortgage payments ? ... answer, not much, as you can see.

I don't think blaming the Bank for mistakenly sending papers to Mr Stephen's home instead of the Parliament will wash to the public on this one ... it certainly would be laughed out of court if introduced as evidence in a criminal case .. what is it they say .. ignorance of the law is no excuse ? but the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body certainly wont scold Stephen too much .. after all, he's one of their own .. and there are many more at the expenses fiddling.

A quote from the Scotsman article today :

In March 2003 Mr Stephen's office gave Holyrood's allowances office a document which showed that his was the only name on the mortgage papers. However, this was sent to Mr Stephen in error by his bank and the actual mortgage agreement - only given to the authorities on Thursday - showed that he and his wife held the mortgage jointly.

I understand that is a lie. Officials at the Parliament (and the newspaper which originally broke the story) had actually seen this document much earlier than last Thursday ... lie after lie after lie ... that's not much of a point scoring position for the office of Deputy First Minister, now, is it.

Tommy Sheridan is quoted in the Scotsman today saying "This is yet another example of MSPs using the rules to suit themselves and getting away with it. If Nicol Stephen had been a social security claimant wrongly getting benefit he would be in court or in jail by now but the parliament is lightly rapping his knuckles. "This is the final nail in the coffin of the expenses scheme; it should be suspended immediately and the profits handed back to the parliament."

Sheridan is probably saying what the public feel on this one ... time to suspend the milking scheme and hand back the money .. but let's have it all out in the open and see who has abused their expenses accounts at Holyrood.

As for Nichol Stephen .. a Fibdem .. well, he lied about his mortgage expenses milking to begin with .. yes, he lied. He denied it .. so, let's be having him out please ... no liars needed at the Scottish Executive or the Scottish Parliament .. but, come to think of it .. if we go by those terms .. the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament will be empty .. from the Speaker down to the clerks !

I think what we need to see now, is some leaks over the undeclared stuff, because there are a lot more fiddles going on in the background than has been publicised so far. Time for some more revelations then ?

Link : http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1747072006

Deputy first minister is guilty of breaking Holyrood expenses rules
PETER MACMAHON SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT EDITOR

NICOL Stephen, the deputy first minister, was yesterday found guilty of breaking Holyrood's expenses rules while he was claiming thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money to buy a flat in Edinburgh.

The mortgage on Mr Stephen's home in one of the Capital's most sought-after areas was held jointly with his wife, Caris Doig - a clear breach of Holyrood's regulations, parliamentary authorities ruled yesterday

Mr Stephen, who has risen to power on the back of a squeaky-clean image, yesterday admitted that he regretted the "error" but stressed that the investigation by Holyrood's governing body had found that neither he nor his wife had gained from the arrangement.

Last night the latest controversy over politicians' expenses led to a warning from the parliamentary authorities to MSPs to follow the rules and further calls for the allowance scheme to be scrapped.

Mr Stephen's joint mortgage was first revealed by a Sunday newspaper six days ago. At first, both the deputy first minister and the parliament denied that he had done anything wrong.

But members of the Scottish Parliament's Corporate Body, which manages Holyrood's budget, were given fresh details of the mortgage arrangements by Mr Stephen on Thursday.

They showed the names of both the minister and his wife on the agreement, contradicting an earlier document, lodged with the allowances office, which showed that he was the sole mortgage holder.

As MSP for Aberdeen South, Mr Stephen is entitled to claim for the interest on a mortgage for a second home in Edinburgh's exclusive Morningside.

A spokesman for the parliament said: "The SPCB found that the member had failed to follow the guidelines for the scheme by having a joint mortgage in place, post 2001.

"At this point, the guidance was clear that members were entitled to reimbursement of interest if the mortgage arrangement was in their name only."

The SPCB found that neither Mr Stephen nor his wife had gained from the "error", as the mortgage payment would have been the same if it was just in his name.

Mr Stephen, who has been claiming £9,000 a year allowances on the £190,000 home he bought with his wife in February 2002, said: "I fully acknowledge there has been a breach of the guidance.

"I very much regret this error. I sincerely believed the arrangements I had put in place were acceptable."

He said he had "acted promptly" to resolve the issues with the parliament and he had made the claim "in good faith and with no financial gain".

Mr Stephen said he had already taken steps to transfer the property and the mortgage into his name.

The parliament's spokesman added a warning to all MSPs last night. He said: "The SPCB concluded that this breach served as a reminder to all members to ensure they are alert to every detail of the allowances scheme and the handbook issued to them as guidance."

The allowance scheme has attracted heavy criticism with other ministers and MSPs under the spotlight for their claims.

Tommy Sheridan, the Solidarity MSP, said: "This is yet another example of MSPs using the rules to suit themselves and getting away with it. If Nicol Stephen had been a social security claimant wrongly getting benefit he would be in court or in jail by now but the parliament is lightly rapping his knuckles.

"This is the final nail in the coffin of the expenses scheme; it should be suspended immediately and the profits handed back to the parliament."

WHAT'S IN A NAME: KEY DETAIL OF MSPs' SCHEME

A REVISED members allowances scheme was agreed by the parliament in June 2001. It said that MSPs could claim the Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance (EMA) provided they were the only ones named on the mortgage of the property.

In March 2003 Mr Stephen's office gave Holyrood's allowances office a document which showed that his was the only name on the mortgage papers.

However, this was sent to Mr Stephen in error by his bank and the actual mortgage agreement - only given to the authorities on Thursday - showed that he and his wife held the mortgage jointly.

Before they pay out the EMA, officials require MSPs to show them their loan agreement or a loan offer along with a statement of the payments being made.

Some MSPs are still claiming allowances for mortgages entered into jointly with spouses before the rule change.

MSPs whose home is in one of 32 constituencies beyond easy reach of Holyrood can claim up to £10,900 a year in mortgage interest payments.

Scottish Parliament withholds documents as Deputy First Minister faces allegations of questionable mortgage arrangements.

Revelations on expenses milking continue on our elected politicians, with Nicol Stephen, the Deputy First Minister caught out this week by the Sunday Herald over a £9000-a-year allowance he receives from the taxpayer to meet interest payments on a £190,000 house he owns with his wife.

In a quote from the article :

Nicol Stephen, who is also leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, has been claiming interest payments for a house he bought in Edinburgh in February 2002.

Both Stephen and his wife are named as debtors in the standard security agreed with mortgage providers. That means if the mortgage is not paid, both are legally responsible.

Yet the Holyrood Allowances Office says it has another document – which it has refused to identify – which lists Stephen as the only name on the loan. There is no clear legal ruling on which document constitutes the mortgage.

The LibDems have come out with a statement on the matter, also contained in the article : “The property is jointly owned by Mr and Mrs Stephen, but the mortgage interest repayments are the sole responsibility of Nicol Stephen, in line with the parliament’s accommodation allowance rules.”

However, with Holyrood refusing to hand over particular documents on the matter .. it looks like there is something to hide ... surely, as the Parliament loves to portray itself as being transparent *laughs* ... they would have been just as well publishing any relevant documentation in response to media inquiries .. but with this having the makings of yet another scandal of milking the allowances at Holyrood .. the Parliament is proably trying to cap any further investigations from the media.

Well .... I don't think that's going to work .. because there seems to be more information coming out on certain msps who are going to have significant problems explaining certain transactions I am not going to disclose just yet ... and I am certainly looking forward to those reports being published.

It must be great for all these politicians to get their mortgages paid while the rest of the country wallows in debt & mortgage hell - at the mercy of Banks, lawyers & other financial institutions who are gunning for their every penny and busy throwing families out of their homes for mortgage arrears .. but what has been very noticable in all of this is the lack of any remorse at all on the part of msps over their exposure in the allowances milking scandals to hit Holyrood & the Scottish Executive recently.

Just take a look, for instance, at last week's Sunday Times interview with John Home Robertson MSP : A new lord of the manor in waiting ... which came after the Sunday Herald's excellent expose on Home Robertson, who was renting his own son's flat for £7,000 a year at the taxpayers expense .. which I covered here : Scottish Labour Politician rents his own son's flat for £7000 a year, charging it up to taxpayers

Home Robertson is in waiting for a peerage, by the sounds of his arrogance ... a peerage which seems to be on offer so he will step aside to allow another Labour politician to take his seat ... but Angus McNeil of the SNP has come forward on that one, asking the peerage be reviewed - which you can read about here : Labour MSP at centre of peerage nomination row ... and certainly, the Metropolitcan Police should be taking note of that one in the current loans for peerages scandal to hit all political parties at Westminster.

It seems that Labour & the Fibdems are out to take as much as they can from the taxpayers wallet before they end up getting kicked out at next year's Holyrood elections ... and with the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body fudging the issue of doing anything to stop the expenses milking ... there will be a lot of profit taking by msps up to next May.

On issues relating to law .. I have been asked to do an article on some of the themes which cropped up in comments on an article I did on Douglas Mill's threat to challenge the LPLA Bill in terms of ECHR & other matters on the legal profession's seemingly god given right to regulate itself, which I covered here : Law Society of Scotland threatens Court challenge against Scottish Executive over LPLA legal reform Bill . It seems my article on Douglas Mill has touched a raw nerve with some, so I will tackle some of the issues of self-regulation this coming week.

Please don't be shy, members of the Scottish legal profession, about leaving your real names & contact details when you comment on my articles.

I sometimes get threats & nasty emails littered with swearing & slander from lawyers who even use their legal firms email boxes .. and when I have a nice collection, I will publish them all .. so if you don't like me, or you don't like clients who take issue with lawyers who defraud clients ... then speak up and tell us just how bad we all are . We can take it - after all, its us who are the victims, not those of you in the legal profession ... and it's taken so long to get politicians to recognise that fact ... a few more insults or threats from the legal profession would just put the icing on the cake.

Article, from the Sunday Herald, at : http://www.sundayherald.com/59226

Deputy first minister embroiled in ‘houses for spouses’ row

By Paul Hutcheon Scottish Political Editor

THE deputy first minister is facing serious questions over a £9000-a-year allowance he receives from the taxpayer to meet interest payments on a £190,000 house he owns with his wife.

Holyrood rules state that MSPs cannot claim the controversial Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance (EAA) unless theirs is the only name on the mortgage for the property in question.

Nicol Stephen, who is also leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, has been claiming interest payments for a house he bought in Edinburgh in February 2002.

Both Stephen and his wife are named as debtors in the standard security agreed with mortgage providers. That means if the mortgage is not paid, both are legally responsible.

Yet the Holyrood Allowances Office says it has another document – which it has refused to identify – which lists Stephen as the only name on the loan. There is no clear legal ruling on which document constitutes the mortgage.

Stephen is now facing questions on why he is claiming interest payments on a property he only half-owns. If that property is sold, his wife would normally be legally entitled to a share in any profits, despite the fact that the taxpayer helped to buy it.

It is the latest controversy to arise from the discredited EAA, which permits some MSPs to either rent a property in the capital, or to claim mortgage interest on a flat or house.

The scheme has suffered a barrage of negative publicity after this news paper disclosed how

Labour MSP John Home Robertson was using the perk to claim £7000 rental on a property owned by his son.

This was followed by revelations of how transport minister Tavish Scott used the profit made on one taxpayer funded flat to help buy a family home in Morningside worth £380,000. Holyrood is now reviewing the allowance.

The Aberdeen South MSP bought the Morningside property four years ago. Deeds from Registers of Scotland, an Executive agency, show he and his wife are both named as debtors in the standard security.

A Scottish LibDems spokesman said last night: “The property is jointly owned by Mr and Mrs Stephen, but the mortgage interest repayments are the sole responsibility of Nicol Stephen, in line with the parliament’s accommodation allowance rules.”

MSPs were able to claim the payments under a joint mortgage until a rule change in autumn 2001. Now allow ances are only paid if the mortgage is in the MSP’s name alone. The mortgage on Stephen’s house was taken out in 2002.

A spokesman for Holyrood’s Allow ances Office said it had seen a document which showed Stephen as the only name on the loan agreement.

But a senior legal source told the Sunday Herald: “It’s extremely unusual for a standard security agreement to have two names, while the loan agreement has only one. Has the Allowances Office seen the standard security, and how does it square the fact that two people are names as debtors when the loan document lists only one? There are serious questions to be asked.”

Controversy has been absent from Stephen’s ministerial career, yet he has made substantial claims under the EAA.

Reports last year said Stephen was the second-highest claimer of the perk, claiming nearly £53,000 since 1999.

In 1999-2000, the MSP pocketed £5038 under the scheme. In 2004-05, that increased to £10,200. He now claims £748 a month in mortgage payments.

Investigation reveals Scottish Parliament Corporate Body knew of MSP rental scandal six years ago

In an additional, but unsurprising revelation on the rental expenses & mortgage allowance abuses of some of our msps, it has now been revealed that the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body - the master of all cover ups when it comes to corruption at the Scottish Parliament, knew of John Home Robertson renting the flat his son allegedly bought himself, in 1999, for £72,000 with no mortgage .. with the details of who bought what for whom and who received the £7,000 rent which Home Robertson was charging the Scottish taxpayer for each year, allegedly, for renting his own son's flat still somewhat unclear to the public.

Sounds like, a bit of a scam, doesn't it ? and with Home Robertson not standing at next May's Holyrood elections and being sent off, conveniently to the House of Lords, the whole thing stinks of corruption. What on earth is the peerage for ? being so ingenious as to get his son to purchase a flat near to the Scottish Parliament just a few days before he was elected to Holyrood .. then billing the taxpayer for the rent of the said flat ? Is that what the peerage is for ?

The Scottish Parliament knowing of it's own scandals, however, is a usual story .. take for instance, when David Mcletchie failed to declare his taxi journeys (as well as other things pending) ... everyone at the Parliament knew about it for a long time before it was eventually leaked to the media .. there were jokes of 'taxi for david' all round .. but no one said a thing, for years. Same for former msp Keith Raffan - another Conservative, turned LibDem .. he was caught claiming expenses for journeys he never made, amongst other things, and resigned his seat at Holyrood for a quick dash to London .. but his colleagues knew of his antics long before it hit the headlines. Same for the many more scandals surrounding msps & the Parliament ... which are all kept quiet, despite protestations of transparency.

A quote from the Sunday Herald article :

The Sunday Herald has now learned that the practice of MSPs renting from relatives was known to members of the Corporate Body more than six years ago. The group, which is comprised of a cross-section of MSPs and is chaired by the parliament’s presiding officer, was aware of three such cases, including the one involving Home Robertson.

A parliament source said: “It was known to most of us on the inside that he was renting a flat from his son that was bought days before his election to Holyrood, but the Corporate Body didn’t do anything about it. People were concerned about the practice but there wasn’t a will to change it. It wasn’t a priority.”

The source added that the parliament did not address the rental arrangements because it was preoccupied with the new Holyrood building .

Remember folks, we can all trust the Corporate Body - after all, it was the SPCB which was involved in the funding scandal to build the Parliament in the first place .. which landed us with a £500million (and rising) building which has been falling to bits since it was put up .. and with the architect and the man who ordered it in the first place, both dead, the Corporate Body saw to it that no one got the blame of what must be the worst public funded financial scandal in Scottish history for some time.

As we take a look at the members of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body .. we can see why the likes of past members such as ex-speaker David Steel - who came up from Westminster after a scandal over undeclared lobbying interests , present speaker George Reid, and the rest of them .. didn't really want to rock the boat over yet another scandal where msps were being allowed to run riot with expenses claims & housing allowances.

Interestingly, the Sunday Herald reports today that First Minister Jack McConnell, who was the Finance Minister from 1999 - 2000 actually opposed the introduction of the Edinburgh Accomodation Allowance ... and I wonder, if a little quote from the Scotsman comments board on Mr McConnell's alleged antics in Wishaw might have been some mud thrown in revenge for the msp rental abuse scandal coming to light in the first place ? .. after all .. these people will turn on each other in an instant .. no matter whether they are from the same party or not.

I'll have to keep an eye on some of the army of crooked lawyers too in this one it seems, because it so happens that some legal firms have been name dropping msps who are allegedly property speculators .. perhaps an attempt by the legal profession to curtail impending legislation which of course, the msps will have to pass ... threaten an msp with more revelations, and they vote against it ... I'm sure the legal profession with it's vast array of dirty tricks, would be using this one ..

How easy it is for all these people who eat their own to turn on each other .. glad I'm not part of the Holyrood gang .. what's the world coming to when rent fiddlers & secret property speculators can't trust the legal crooks they do business with ... my my.. and with calls for a review of the whole allowance & expenses scheme .. you can bet the Scottish Parliament will be again, the master of it's own cover up

The plot certainly thickens .. as do the several additional scandals on the Scottish Parliament lining up in the out box to be published ...

Read on for the article, from the Sunday Herald, at : http://www.sundayherald.com/59044

Holyrood knew of allowance ‘scandal’

By Paul Hutcheon

HOLYROOD bosses knew six years ago that MSPs were billing the taxpayer for renting from relatives but declined to change the practice.

The Corporate Body, which runs the parliament, was aware of three MSPs who were charging the public for staying in properties owned by family members. But they declined to propose changes to the system because they were preoccupied with the Holyrood building project.

The revelation follows a spate of negative headlines for the taxpayer-funded Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance, which permits some MSPs to either rent in Edinburgh, or to claim the interest payments on a mortgage in the capital.

The Sunday Herald last month disclosed how Labour MSP John Home Robertson was billing the public £7000 a year to stay in his son’s flat.

This was followed by revelations last week of how Tavish Scott, the Liberal Democrat transport minister, had used taxpayers’ money to help buy a £380,000 family home, with the aid of a £36,000 profit made on another property bought with state cash. Scott had previously charged the public for staying in his sister’s flat.

The Sunday Herald has now learned that the practice of MSPs renting from relatives was known to members of the Corporate Body more than six years ago. The group, which is comprised of a cross-section of MSPs and is chaired by the parliament’s presiding officer, was aware of three such cases, including the one involving Home Robertson.

A parliament source said: “It was known to most of us on the inside that he was renting a flat from his son that was bought days before his election to Holyrood, but the Corporate Body didn’t do anything about it. People were concerned about the practice but there wasn’t a will to change it. It wasn’t a priority.”

The source added that the parliament did not address the rental arrangements because it was preoccupied with the new Holyrood building .

It was left to former Scottish Socialist Party leader Tommy Sheridan and SNP MSP Michael Matheson to raise concerns about the issue.

Their case was boosted earlier this year when first minister Jack McConnell asked the parliament to review the allowance . The call was initially resisted, but the Home Robertson and Scott rows prompted parliament last week to agree to review the entire expenses regime, in particular the Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance.

The Sunday Herald has also learned that McConnell, when finance minister between 1999 and 2000, opposed the introduction of the allowance.

Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan said the case for changing the system was overwhelming: “These latest revelations will only add fuel to an already blazing fire of discontent over a scheme which exposes politicians as having their noses in a taxpayers’ trough.

“The changes that are required need to be brought in now, not after next May’s elections, because too many MSPs will have the opportunity to cash in between now and then.”

An Scottish Parliament spokesman said: “The Allowances scheme as a whole was revised and approved by Parliament in June 2001. Any Member could have lodged amendments to this scheme but the motion was passed unopposed.

“In May of this year, the current Corporate Body asked staff to review issues arising back to 1999 and to produce an options paper by March 2007.”

MSP in rent row to stand down amid calls for reform of Scottish Parliament expenses gravy train

The Herald newspaper is reporting today that John Home Robertson MSP, who was caught claiming £7000 from the taxpayer to live in a £73,000 flat bought by his 17-year old son, with no mortgage, days before he became an MSP in 1999, will not seek reelection at next year's Holyrood elections. Too bad then, but there should be a full investigation into this matter .. hope someone has lodged complaints !

However, fear not readers .. as it seems Home Robertson is going off to the House of Lords .. where no doubt, the hard habit of milking one's expenses account will be a tough one to break .. and with the possibility of lucrative directorships of companies doing business with the Government of the day, as several lords have already taken up ... I'm sure we won't have heard the last of Home Robertson's activities by way of the gravy train.

Someone emailed me asking why I had covered the article here : Scottish Labour Politician rents his own son's flat for £7000 a year, charging it up to taxpayers ... and if I had anything against JHR. I don't. I don't even know him personally, but I know of him of course, as I know of a lot of the other msps ... and I do know he's one of those at Holyrood who have stood by from time to time and not done everything he should have for constituents .. so that lets me in to make a comment, or more, on it.

Today's Scotsman newspaper is also reporting calls for the MSPs' mortgage allowance to be reviewed .. although there certainly needs to be a much greater review than just the mortgage allowance ... with more immediate action than the laughable proposition from the Parliament's Speaker, who, the Scotsman are reporting wants any action on this to be delayed until the next parliament is formed.

"But he [George Reid] stressed nothing would be done before the election and any changes would have to be discussed by the new parliament elected next May."

That is a joke, right ?

Would anyone in their right mind, even a sober man, come out with such a ridiculous explanation in the wake of the recent media attention on our milking msps & the calls for action on this matter ?

How's his own expenses doing I wonder ? or those of his party colleagues ? and is this delay also to give time to the many msps who haven't declared everything they should ? ... amid fears that someone knows something and is about to publish .... but such information would be better saved for nearer the elections, wouldn't it ? much more impact around that time ... might knock the voters around a bit .. and serve some people right for not helping those who need it.

Anyway, Reid's delay, via the infamous Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, should give everyone time to milk as much as they can .. better get the mortgages paid up as much as possible then and get the properties sold off for big profits before any action after March 2007 does come on this one, if at all.

Looking through the Scotsman board on Monday's report on this issue .. which you can read here Calls to scrap allowance as MSP claims £979 a month for mortgage .. there were several good postings on just who was claiming what as an MSP ... which I have known for awhile anyway .. but how about we have the full list published in the papers ?

Every political party in Scotland has people who are milking the expenses .. but they made the rules so they could do that, and.. it's not just Labour, sadly

As the sole msp giving comment on this matter attacking the allowances scheme shows - Tommy Sheridan (who probably thinks he's landed on the moon on this one) that means there's too much to hide for everyone else to speak .. what is it ? Party orders from the whips not to condemn the allowance scheme ? or is it just that there's no one brave enough or clean enough left at Holyrood to tell the truth & tackle the issue ? .. I suspect it's the latter.. sadly.

Another whitewash from the whitewash of whitewashes to be expected .. but the dirt still flows, and more revelations on the cards, and thanks for the tip on the Wishaw matter, whoever gave it... seems to be checking out ...

Read on for the Herald & Scotsman articles, links to follow

http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/73935.html

John Home Robertson to stand down from Holyrood
CATHERINE MACLEOD November 08 2006

John Home Robertson, MSP for East Lothian, will not seek reselection for next year's Scottish parliamentary elections.

Mr Home Robertson, who has represented the Scottish parliamentary constituency since 1999, will tell the East Lothian Constituency Labour Party tomorrow night that he intends to stand down.

The MSP's decision to announce his intentions at this time triggered speculation within Labour's ranks. While he was not expected to fight the election, he was not expected to make his intentions clear until next spring.

One Scottish colleague claimed last night that he was standing down because of recent adverse publicity over his expenses – it is understood he claimed £7000 from the taxpayer to live in a flat bought by his 17-year old son days before he became an MSP – but last night Labour sources denied he was standing down for any other reason but to give the party plenty of time to select another candidate.

As speculation at Westminster suggests Mr Home Robertson will be bound for the House of Lords next year, a senior Labour figure insisted he was standing down now to avoid any suggestion of a Labour Party fix. The party is expecting the vacancy to attract interest from more than a handful of aspiring candidates. Iain Gray, a former Scottish Executive minister and now special adviser to Douglas Alexander, is almost certain to put his hat in the ring.

Mr Home Robertson, a favoured colleague of the late Donald Dewar, represented Westminster constituencies of Berwick and East Lothian, and later East Lothian since 1983, before electing to stand for the first Holyrood elections in 1999.

In the early years of the Scottish Parliament he was the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry, and in 2001 he took on convenership of the Holyrood Progress Group, which had responsibility for overseeing the completion of the new Parliament Building Project. He opposed calls to cap expenditure on the project.

And the version from today's Scotsman newspaper :

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1651002006

MSPs' mortgage allowance to be reviewed
HAMISH MACDONELL SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR (hmacdonell@scotsman.com)

HOLYROOD managers are to review the controversial housing system which allows MSPs to claim back mortgage payments from the taxpayer, it emerged last night.

George Reid, the Scottish Parliament's Presiding Officer, announced that officials would investigate the system and suggest possible reforms.

But he stressed nothing would be done before the election and any changes would have to be discussed by the new parliament elected next May.

MSPs can claim the Edinburgh Housing Allowance to cover interest-only mortgages on properties in the capital if they live too far away to commute to Edinburgh. They can also claim back the cost of utility bills and council tax on these properties.

The system has come in for intense criticism, particularly because some MSPs have bought properties using the scheme then sold them later for substantial profits which they have been able to keep for themselves.

The scheme came under the spotlight again earlier this week when it emerged that Tavish Scott, the transport minister and MSP for Shetland, has been claiming £979 a month from the taxpayer to cover the costs of a mortgage and other bills on a big house in the city's Morningside area.

Tommy Sheridan, the Solidarity MSP, has been a vociferous critic of the scheme and has called for it to be scrapped as soon as possible.

Jack McConnell has also expressed his reservations about the scheme and has called on the Scottish Parliament's Corporate Body (SPCB) to review it.

Yesterday the corporate body met and decided the scheme should be reviewed - but not until after the election.

Mr Reid said: "The current system of allowances was brought in by unanimous vote of parliament in June 2001. The Corporate Body has no authority to alter that system. It can be changed only after further debate and vote of parliament.

"We acknowledge that there are issues to be addressed, but they are complex and have to be addressed in total."

And he added: "It is the SPCB's intention to have all the arguments delineated by March 2007 for determination by our successors after the elections in May."

The review of the Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance will be part of a broader investigation into the allowances system for MSPs.

Officials will be asked to find out whether there is any realistic alternative, either for the parliament to purchase a block of flats for MSPs or to put them all up in hotels, or whether there is any way of preventing the MSPs from making a profit, while keeping the system broadly the same as it is now.

Other parts of the system have come in for criticism, particularly as all MSPs get access to the same resources, whether or not they are constituency MSPs with constituency workloads, or regional list MSPs with a much broader remit.

Other changes which could come about as a result of the review are:

• Changes to the pay and conditions of MSPs' staff. At the moment researchers and secretaries are paid out of each individual MSP's allowance, but this could be changed to make them direct employees of the parliament.

• Changes to the office system, setting down different requirements for constituency and regional list MSPs.

Mr Sheridan said last night the review was "long overdue" but "welcome none the less". He said: "The Edinburgh accommodation scheme is not only discredited, it's unacceptable. No individual MSP should be allowed to personally profit from an accommodation scheme in the future and any changes must take effect immediately

"In addition, MSPs' salaries should be reduced to reflect the average wage of skilled workers in Scotland and all parliamentary staff should become proper paid employees with trade union rights and conditions instead of being employed directly by individual MSPs," he added.

Taxpayer picks up the property tab

TAVISH SCOTT

TAVISH Scott, right, is the latest MSP to become embroiled in controversy over the Edinburgh accommodation allowance after it emerged earlier this week that he was charging the taxpayer nearly £1,000 a month to cover his costs for a £380,000 house in Edinburgh.

Mr Scott, the transport minister and MSP for Shetland, is claiming £979 a month to pay a mortgage and other bills on a home in the Morningside area.

Mr Scott has already made £36,000 on an Edinburgh flat he bought with the public purse and traded up to the bigger property with the help of the allowance.

The allowance is supposed to provide MSPs with accommodation for the days they stay in Edinburgh. Most have invested in small city-centre flats, but Mr Scott is the only one to have used the scheme to buy a big, family house.

Mr Scott has not broken any rules, but his use of the allowance to purchase such a big property fuelled demands for change.

JOHN HOME ROBERTSON

THE Labour MSP John Home Robertson was criticised after it was revealed last month he was claiming £7,000 a year of taxpayers' money to live in his son's Edinburgh flat.

He charges Holyrood £600 a month to rent a property bought in the name of his son Patrick days before the first elections to the Scottish Parliament in 1999.

Mr Home Robertson, the MSP for East Lothian, was able to make the claim as his home in the Borders is classed as beyond daily commuting distance.

Two Scottish Executive Ministers revealed to be charging mortgage interest payments to the public.

Following last week's revelations in the Sunday Herald newspaper of John Home Robertson MSP who was caught out charging some £7000 a year to the taxpayer to rent a flat his 17 year old son bought for £72,000 in 1999 (with no mortgage), two Liberal Democrat Scottish Executive Ministers have now been caught out charging mortgate interest payments up to the taxpayer via their Scottish Parliament 'Edinburgh Accomodation Allowance'.

Transport Minister Tavish Scott MSP is charging the public nearly £1000 a month in mortgage interest payments to help him buy a £380,000 house in Edinburgh.

How about Transport Minister Tavish Scott gets a smaller place ? does he need a £380,000 house in Edinburgh to do his work as an MSP ? Shouldn't he be a bit more 'greener' for being Transport Minister ? .. or is he just another LibDem milker ... like Environmental Minister Ross Finnie MSP , who has also been caught out doing the same .. where the Sunday Herald also reports Finnie's wife signed over her rights to an Edinburgh property so her husband could claim £2500 a year in mortgage interest payments, from the taxpayer - via his Parlianemt expenses ...

A quote from the Sunday Herald article on Tavish Scott :

Land registry documents show that most MSPs have used the allowance to buy small flats in central Edinburgh costing between £80,000 and £100,000. But Scott has taken advantage of the generous system by purchasing a house last year in Morningside worth £380,000, on a mortgage of £265,000.

Parliamentary records show he is now billing the public £979 a month in interest payments on his mortgage – the highest charge of any MSP. Scott is also entitled to claim the £1920 council tax on his new band-G house.

An identical property for sale in the same street, inviting offers over £350,000, has three bedrooms, a “lovely private garden”, and a conservatory and patio.

The purchase of the house is only part of the LibDem minister’s use of the accommodation allowance.

The MSP bought his first property through the scheme in 2002, a £112,000 flat at Lower London Road sold to him by his sister. Figures show he claimed around £500 a month in mortgage payments for the property. He sold the flat last year for £148,000, pocketing £36,000 in profit. This allowed him to buy the much bigger property in Morningside.

Must be good for some then ? .. while the rest of the country is swimming in a sea of mortgate debt, with lots of families having to almost live from salary cheque to salary cheque ... our politicians can rape the taxpayer for anything they want .. including buying lavish housing and getting us to pay their mortgages .. even selling on their properties & making huge profits to boot !

Well, my personal opinion of the LibDems .. or 'FibDems' has always been pretty low .. after all, remember, I lived in the Scottish Borders for a long time (regrettably) .. and the Region was represented by the likes of MPs Archy Kirkwood & the other guy .. keep forgetting his name, he's so unimportant .. Moore .. I think .. and well, the MSPs for the Borders are equally as bad ... for all the bluster of Christine Grahame .... she couldn't lift a finger to help the likes of me or anyone else who had been ruined by the legal mafia ... but maybe that came from not being able to see through the usual 'haze'. Look at the likes of the others in the region .. David Steel .. etc ... I'm sure those people only stayed at Westminster as they got the fools in the Borders to vote for them continually ... if they had been anywhere else, their idiotic and incompetent antics would surely not merit a single vote.

Tommy Sheridan MSP seems to be one of the few MSPs coming out to say much on this .. but I think he should be doing more than writing to the Presiding Officer on it ... after all, I've had my own experience with George Reid .. and that 'predecessor'of his, David Steel, on matters related to MSPs dealings on issues of crooked lawyers & involvement with the legal profession ... and I can safely say .. Reid and the rest of them won't do much because in some way or another .. they are all at it. If you want to do something, Tommy .. dish the dirt on the lot of them ... because there's a lot of dirt, as we both know and it's high time it was out. Let the public see who their representatives at Holyrood really are and what they are up to.

I think I will let the two articles from the Sunday Herald speak for themselves - and once again, my congratulations to Paul Hutcheon and the Sunday Herald News team, exposing these scandals over at that thing we were sold for $1billion, as the Scottish Parliament - but has turned out to be as crooked & corrupt as .. well, I can't think of a comparison right now... but, of course, more revelations to come !

Link at : http://www.sundayherald.com/58943

Revealed: more MSPs benefit from Holyrood property gravy train

By Scottish Political Editor Paul Hutcheon

A Scottish Executive minister is charging the public nearly £1000 a month in mortgage interest payments to help him buy a £380,000 house in Edinburgh.

Tavish Scott, the transport minister, has doubled the amount he bills the taxpayer for the property perk despite making a £36,000 profit last year on another flat bought with help from the public purse.

He has previously claimed rent on a flat which at the time was owned by his sister.

The revelations are further blows for the widely discredited Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance.

The parliamentary scheme allows MSPs to either claim mortgage interest payments on a property in the capital, or to rent, or to stay in a hotel.

Last week, the Sunday Herald disclosed that Labour MSP John Home Robertson was using the system to bill the public £7000 a year to stay in his son’s flat.

The allowance is also deeply unpopular because it has allowed several MSPs to make substantial profits on properties bought with the help of taxpayers’ money.

One of the biggest winners from the scheme appears to be Scott, the Liberal Democrat MSP for Shetland, who is responsible for Scotland’s transport network.

Land registry documents show that most MSPs have used the allowance to buy small flats in central Edinburgh costing between £80,000 and £100,000. But Scott has taken advantage of the generous system by purchasing a house last year in Morningside worth £380,000, on a mortgage of £265,000.

Parliamentary records show he is now billing the public £979 a month in interest payments on his mortgage – the highest charge of any MSP. Scott is also entitled to claim the £1920 council tax on his new band-G house.

An identical property for sale in the same street, inviting offers over £350,000, has three bedrooms, a “lovely private garden”, and a conservatory and patio.

The purchase of the house is only part of the LibDem minister’s use of the accommodation allowance.

The MSP bought his first property through the scheme in 2002, a £112,000 flat at Lower London Road sold to him by his sister. Figures show he claimed around £500 a month in mortgage payments for the property. He sold the flat last year for £148,000, pocketing £36,000 in profit. This allowed him to buy the much bigger property in Morningside.

This purchase coincided with Scott’s changed personal circumstances. By 2005, he was separated from his wife and dating BBC journalist Kirsten Campbell. The electoral roll shows a “Kirsten Campbell” is registered at the new property.

The minister is now charging the public almost double the amount he charged for his previous flat, up from £500 to £979 a month.

Scott has also left himself open to criticism regarding his rental arrangements prior to buying his first taxpayer-funded flat in 2002. That property was bought by Scott’s sister in 2000 – just months after her brother was elected to Holyrood – and sold to him two years later. However, council records show a Tavish H Scott was on the electoral roll for this flat in 2001. The LibDem MSP was claiming rent for staying in his sister’s property.

Scott, a business studies graduate, earns around £50,000 for representing Shetland, while ministers are entitled to a further £39,000. He has claimed more than £50,000 in Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance payments since 1999.

The minister’s dealings follow the Sunday Herald’s revelations last week that Labour MSP John Home Robertson was charging the public £600 a month to stay in his son’s flat. Records show the MSP’s son, then aged 17, bought a £72,000 flat just weeks before his father was elected to Holyrood. No mortgage was required to purchase the property.

The Labour politician apologised to his colleagues for “any grief” caused by last weekend’s article, adding: “There is no question of any financial advantage to anybody.”

Tavish Scott last night said of his property dealings: “I have followed the rules that are set down for all MSPs. I am not going to comment on anything to do with this.”

Asked whether he billed the public for renting his sibling’s flat before buying her property, he said: “I did rent from my sister.”

The allowance’s negative publicity recently prompted first minister Jack McConnell to call for a review of the scheme. A source close to the first minister said yesterday: “His position hasn’t changed. He thinks there is, at best, public confusion and, at worst, public concern about the scheme.”

Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan, a long-term campaigner against the allowance, said of the latest revelations: “The whole scheme stinks to high heaven. Every politician is dragged down by it. Any scheme which allows politicians to profit personally is a bad idea. It’s not illegal, but it is immoral.

“Just last week I wrote to the presiding officer, George Reid, to demand the parliament’s corporate body carry out the commitment they gave when I tried to get an amendment to the Registration of Members’ Interests Bill. That’s when Jack McConnell said he agreed with me – so where is the change?”

and now for Ross Finnie ...., again from the Sunday Herald . at : http://www.sundayherald.com/58939

LibDem takes over mortgage to claim allowance
By Paul Hutcheon Scottish Political Editor

THE wife of a Scottish Executive minister signed over her rights to an Edinburgh property so her husband could claim £2500 a year in mortgage interest payments.

Environment minister Ross Finnie and his wife Phyllis originally bought a £60,000 flat in the capital five years ago.

But months later, the minister’s spouse waived her rights over the property after learning that a joint mortgage was not compatible with receiving special help from the taxpayer.

The arrangement stems from the controversial Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance, which permits MSPs to claim public cash for renting or towards paying the mortgage on a property in Edinburgh.

Records show Ross and Phyllis Finnie purchased the £60,000 flat in Springfield Street in 2001.

Land registry documents show that in 2002 the LibDem minister’s wife signed over the mortgage to her husband under the banner of “good and onerous causes”. He has since claimed £200 a month through the Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance.

A parliament spokesman confirmed MSPs can recoup the interest payments on a property only if the mortgage is in their name.

“For mortgage interest claims under the Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance, the mortgage can only be in the name of the member – it can’t be in joint names with the spouse,” he said.

The environment minister has not broken any rules by acquiring sole rights to his Edinburgh mortgage, but it does show the lengths to which MSPs go to claim the perk.

Finnie yesterday said he and his wife changed the ownership of the property in order to claim the allowance.

“I bought the property in a joint name, but the allowance does not permit you to claim it if someone else owns the property. I had always intended to claim the allowance. The parliament said it was not permissible in terms of the allowance,” he said.

Scottish Labour Politician rents his own son's flat for £7000 a year, charging it up to taxpayers

I've been taking a few emails from around the world, particularly the far east, over the past few weeks, as people read my blog & the news articles I quote.

Principally, the questions asked are why has Scotland become so corrupt ? .. is it safe to do business here ? ... can you recommend me a lawyer who isn't crooked ? , questions like that .. and .. even ... can you tell me which politicians are corrupt and which are honest.

Well, these certainly aren't easy questions to answer ... and I received an email from one person whom I'm sure would make this blog quite newsworthy if I released his name, but I won't and have given my word on that.

I think, suffice to say, there are people in the world taking notice of how crooked Scotland has become .. but as I tirelessly say - it's not because of the ordinary people .. it's because of those who run the country and who have much greater influence than they should .. seedy secretive clubs such as the Speculative Society or others we all know of - membership of which seems to be a requirement for Scotland's Judiciary .. debating societies as some would wish to call them.. others might call them clubs for the boys, promoting each other over the heads of outsiders. Some say they have too much influence over legislation, vetoing anything which could be a threat to their little empires, or have holds on politicians to bring them to heel like a dog when it suits, or who even sometimes play pass the parcel .. with people .. just for sadistic pleasure.

We also have, of course, some of the crooked professions who wield so much influence in politics & daily life, nothing can be done without their say so, such as yes, of course, the legal profession - who are about to take the Scottish Executive to Court over the LPLA Bill to try and kill off the planned reforms to complaints against lawyers.

Such is the furore of the Judiciary and the Law Society of Scotland over the fact they will lose the ability to fiddle client complaints & investigations against their own members - they are intent on staging a court case against the Scottish Executive & even the Scottish Parliament, to thwart the pro-consumer reforms of the LPLA Bill, which are planned to stop Scotlands great gang of crooked lawyers from ripping off their clients.

Even, retired Judges have been resurrected to defend Scotland's legal thieves .. and we now have the spectacle of 'Chernenko' style political influence .. where the dusty old relics of the past have been brought out as hired assassins to murder the Legal Profession & Legal Aid (Scotland) Bill which myself and many others have long campaigned for.

A Policeman, recently said to me in an email - it's about, what you have on people - the dirt .. you can make a person - a politician - anyone, do anything, if you have the right kind of information on them .. so having people in power with secrets in the cupboard .. is a good thing .. for the likes of crooked lawyers .. crooked financiers .. etc.

He's right of course - that's one of the reasons Scotland has a lot of odd people in power - catch a Judge up a corner with a young boy (and I mean under 16) ... that's it .. you can get that Judge to do anything - he won't resign .. unless it appears on the front page ot a tabloid, of course.

Catch a politician claiming for something they'd rather keep secret, or maybe even fiddling their expenses claims or something a little more sinister .. fiddling local Council contracts for building work or whatever ... that politician is yours, for the rest of his life unless the scandal hits the media with enough force to make him resign ... that's how it works .. I've seen it myself, especially in the Scottish Borders.

Anyway, in a story quite appropriate to show how politics is regarded in Scotland today .. a story has come to light where long serving Labour MSP John Home Robertson, has been charging £7000 a year to rent his son’s appartment in Tytler Gardens, Edinburgh .. which his son, Patrick Home Robertson purchased in April 1999 for £72,000 when he was 17 years old. Not being satisfied with that, John Home Robertson also charges the taxpayer for the council tax on his son’s appartment, as well as 'other costs'.

From the details, t looks like we have yet another expenses claiming scandal inolving one of our MSPs in the grab it & run culture of Holyrood .. Rentalgate, perhaps ?

Is there any suggestion of 'wrongdoing' here ? well, no .. it seems to be the rules that you can claim expenses for living arangements, because of course, the same politicians voted for those rules who are now using them to claim what they want .. and the Parliament happily obliges with the cash.

Must be a rich family .. I don't know many 17 year olds who could pay £72,000 for a flat .. that's without a mortgage of course .. yes, NO mortgage .. then his dad goes and bills the taxpayer for £600 a month to rent a property bought by his own son days before his own election to the Scottish parliament.

Anyone sense something might be a bit iffy there ? a politician bills the taxpayer £7000 a year to stay in his son’s flat ?

Why doesn't his son let his good old dad stay in the flat for free ?

If I had said .. Dad .. I'm going to charge you rent for staying in my flat, I know what he would have said ! .. his response wouldn't have been printable !

How many 17 year olds rent out their homes to their parents ? .. kind of uncommon, wouldn't you say ? ... oh and guess what - the Scottish Parliament have decided to keep the rental invoice documents secret .. in the same vein they kept David McLetchie's taxi journey destinations secret .. because of course some of those destinations involved 'another woman' .. so maybe theres something more to hide .. which is yet to come out ...

Is it the Scottish Parliament's job to cover up for this kind of stuff ?

Well, maybe it is .. after all, just look at the absolute honesty which the likes of Paul Grice and the rest of the gang at Holyrood handled the building costs of the Parliament itself .. not to mention just about every other scandal which has hit the headlines involving the Parliament - whether that be Party leaders journeys into the unknown, expenses claimed for journeys while outside of the country - or even male msps being caught on cctv cameras in sexual acts with their own male members of staff (oh what a shame a famous Scottish tabloid's £12,000) offer for those camera stills didn't come off for a front pager)

As I said awhile ago .. I know of at least one Scottish Executive Minister, who has some preferential property deals from an Edinburgh legal firm I know has an appaling regulatory history regarding clients. Just because the purchase deal was made a bit more complicated .. didn't stop the details being leaked around (this is another one yet to break, remember, not related to the Home Robertson story in the Sunday Herald today.

It doesn't stop at Labour though .. oh no ... there are a few MSPs out there from other political parties, who need a little tug regarding their secretive dealings, expense claims .. and work for 'professions', companies, interference in local authority contracts & planning matters .. etc .. and I think it's quite right that sometimes, we step on these people, because after all, they have stepped on a lot of us .. .faking up claims they are doing things to help people when they aren't ... lying to constituents faces on life threatening issues ... I think such people are fair game .. but if they want to stop the fair game .. then why not just become honest ? .. nothing wrong with that, is there ? after all, it should be honesty which makes the world go round .. shouldn't it ?

Mr Home Robertson - I hope you vote for the LPLA Bill - these people in the legal profession can't be trusted you know .. they will turn on anyone to save themselves.

Well, just read the story to follow from the Sunday Herald - and of course, congratulations to Paul Hutcheon & the Sunday Herald team again for their excellent work in exposing things which really, just shouldn't be happening .. when everyone else is strapped for cash .. living day to day on huge debts, being thrown out of their holmes because of knowingly mis-sold mortgages ... etc .

UPDATE - The story has now been followed up in other media, and of course, The Scotsman newspaper, where you can read their version, along with readers comments, at : http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1602092006

Link to the original breaking news article, from the Sunday Herald Newspaper, at : http://www.sundayherald.com/58802

THIS MSP bills the taxpayer £7000 a year … to rent his son’s flat

By Paul Hutcheon, Scottish Political Editor

THE taxpayer is footing a £7000-a-year bill so that one of Scotland’s wealthiest MSPs can live in his son’s Edinburgh flat, the Sunday Herald can reveal.

Labour’s John Home Robertson bills the public £600 a month to rent a property bought by his son days before his election to the Scottish parliament.

The East Lothian MSP’s claim has prompted renewed calls to have the parliament’s expenses system overhauled.

It is the latest issue to stem from Holyrood’s Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance, which helps some MSPs pay the interest on a mortgage in the capital, or to pay rent on a property.

Home Robertson qualifies because his home, rather than his constituency, is classed as being beyond daily commuting distance. He has since used the scheme to claim £600 a month in rent allowances.

But the Sunday Herald can reveal the Labour MSP is billing the taxpayer for staying in his own son’s flat.

The Land Register shows that Patrick Home Robertson bought a £72,000 apartment in Tytler Gardens in April 1999 when he was 17 years old. Days later, his father became an MSP and has claimed rental on the property. The register discloses that there is no mortgage on the property.

The electoral roll states that a “John Home Robertson” has lived periodically at the Edinburgh address since 1999. The MSP also parks his car in the “private residents’ parking only” section of Tytler Gardens. The flat is seconds away from the new Holyrood parliament building.

Parliamentary figures show he claimed £8422 in 2001-02 in accommodation costs, and then £7200 in rent between April 2004 and March 2005.

Costs released earlier this year showed he had claimed £4463 in accommodation costs for the first two quarters of 2005, which was made up by monthly payments of £600.

He also charged the public for more than £3000 in mileage over the same period last year – the highest travel claim for any MSP in the Lothians – a clawback that raises questions about how often he uses the Edinburgh property.

In addition, Home Robertson charges the taxpayer for the council tax on his son’s flat, as well as for other running costs.

Full details of the Labour MSP’s Edinburgh living arrangements are secret as the parliament has declined to make rental invoices publicly available.

The Holyrood website, which contains a vast amount of detail about each MSP’s allowances, says of all his rent claims: “File not available due to Data Protection or personal security reasons or due to the poor quality of the original document.”

One resident in Tytler Gardens said of the MSP: “He’s here quite regularly. He seems to live here.”

It is the latest blow for an allowance that has been widely discredited in the eyes of the public. First minister Jack McConnell called on the perk to be reviewed earlier this year.

Home Robertson is a two-term MSP who used to convene the Holyrood Progress Group, the body created to monitor the new Scottish parliament building. He opposed calls to cap spending on the wayward project.

The Labour politician defended his rental arrangements: “It is a matter of public record that I lease a flat in Edinburgh and that the rent is paid under the Scottish parliament’s Edinburgh Accommodation Allowance Scheme.

“The Scottish parliament authorities have a copy of the lease of the flat, the rental was independently assessed and this arrangement was fully approved by the Allowances Office from the outset.”

Scottish National Party MSP Michael Matheson, who has spoken out in criticism of the Edinburgh accommodation allowance, called for urgent reform of the system:

“This is a further reminder why the Corporate Body needs to review the allowance as early as possible. There’s a danger that some of its workings will undermine the reputation of the parliament and further dilute public confidence in politicians.”