This week, the British Parliament published expense reports for its members online in response to an extensive court and legislative battle originating from a five-year-old Freedom of Information request. The records made available by Parliament are redacted versions of expense reports that had been leaked last month to the Daily Telegraph, resulting in the recent scandal that has shaken up British government. Specifically, the government-published versions have been redacted of MP's home addresses and travel patterns, information that was used by the Telegraph to uncover a number of MP's practices of abusing the expenses system to pay for sometimes lavish renovations to their second homes. The newly available expense reports can be seen on the Parliament website here. For the full story about their release, read this BBC article.
To learn more about the MP expenses scandal or the differences between American and British Freedom of Information laws, read our previous blog entry.