Four years before the Daily Telegraph began publishing its explosive expose of MPs’ expenses, Heather Brooke was ringing round parliament trying to find out why MPs’ expenses were not published.
Brooke was researching her book ‘Your Right to Know’ and when she encountered a less than receptive response from Commons officials she began filing Freedom of Information (FoI) requests.
When her requests were refused she appealed, bringing the Director of the House of Commons Fees Office to testify in an Information Tribunal.
It was here that the public first learned of the infamous ‘John Lewis’ list which acted as a price guide for MPs’ claims for white goods and furniture. The battle raged on and eventually went all the way to the High Court where Brooke was victorious.
The legal precedent paved the way for the full disclosure of all MPs’ expenses receipts. This is the story behind the story of the MPs’ expenses scandal.
At the cij summer school 2009 Heather gave a talk about her experience of using FoI to uncover the MPs’ Expenses story.