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.”