James Purnell: another expenses fraudster
Via Iain Dale, James Purnell—the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and persecutor of the Benefits Classes—is the latest dishonest little shit to be caught with his hands in the till.
I get tired of saying this, but this is plain, out-and-out fraud.
"Surprised"? "Outraged" might be a rather better word for it.
Nothing is going to change until some of these cunts are prosecuted for fraud: and, if found guilty, then they should be punished with the full weight of the law. If they are not, then it will be an explicit admission that these greedy fucks consider themselves above the law.
And that's when the only road open to the taxpayers of Britain is the decoration of lamp-posts...
CABINET Minister James Purnell was under pressure last night to explain why he claimed £10,000 more in Parliamentary expenses than he paid in rent for his London flat.
The Welfare and Pensions Secretary, tipped as a future leader of the Labour Party, pocketed £10,143 more than the rent he was being charged on his second home in London.
A Sunday Express investigation has revealed that Mr Purnell submitted rent claims of up to £2,020 each month – yet bank records prove that he paid only £910 every month.
The rent claims were made for the luxury apartment he shared with his former fiancée, Lucy Walker, under financial arrangements which were branded “bizarre” by fellow MPs.
Mr Purnell, 39, was embarrassed last week when the Sunday Express published photographs showing that at the end of his tenancy he left the flat “looking like a pigsty”.
This was despite claiming more than £1,600 for cleaning and repairs during the time he lived there.
He forfeited his £2,520 deposit when he left the flat and left unpaid bills of £4,000 for cleaning and repairs.
I get tired of saying this, but this is plain, out-and-out fraud.
As the minister in charge of welfare benefits, Mr Purnell has spearheaded the Government’s crackdown on benefits cheats.
Many taxpayers will, therefore, be surprised to learn about the Minister’s own financial arrangements for claiming public money.
"Surprised"? "Outraged" might be a rather better word for it.
Nothing is going to change until some of these cunts are prosecuted for fraud: and, if found guilty, then they should be punished with the full weight of the law. If they are not, then it will be an explicit admission that these greedy fucks consider themselves above the law.
And that's when the only road open to the taxpayers of Britain is the decoration of lamp-posts...
Labels: endemic corruption, filthy corruption, just not fucking funny, law and order, thieving bastards
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MP's eh? They've either got their underwear around their ankles (Mostly Tories) or their fingers in the till (Mostly Labour).
Maybe Purnell has been learning from some of his "flock" of claimants.
Of course walking away from £2,500 deposit is ok - I wonder if he claimed for that to start with. No prizes for guessing what I think.
His trashing of the apartment is in line with people who get something for nothing. If he had been renting a Peabody, I suspect he would be blacklisted by now.
What an utter scumbag. Welfare reforms? They will be laughed out the house now, so the Tories can jam their flag on that bit of high ground now.
I wonder if IDS cracked open a bottle of bubbly on the news.
WV: miworse IKYN. Purnell, yes, you are worse.
.....or their pricks up someones arse (mostly LibDem)
Will Gordon have the guts to sack him?
Kevin, I have to wonder if Brown has the power any longer to sack anyone.
He has enough enemies in the party, and needs no more.
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It's our duty as citizens to report these wayward acts of wanton wallet stuffing to the appropriate authorities...
DWP Fraudline
Crimestoppers
As that awfully nice DWP website says; "Deliberately withholding information that affects your claim is stealing."
The clairwil blog has other examples of his claims, Benefit Scrounging Scum and not it isn't about Bendy Girl.
What's all this about it being his second home in London! It's his main home!
Purnell hails from the South East and has lived his adult life in London. He had a flat in the capital when he was parachuted into the Stalybridge & Hyde constituency just before the 2001 General Election and has lived full time down there ever since.
he bought a constituency house in Broadbottom, a terraced house, which he sold and then bought another terrace in the same village which he has to this day. He is there once in a blue moon, when he graces us with his presence when he pops up to fly the flag.
The Broadbotom house is not his main residence by any ordinary definition. he just claims it is so he can claim £2,000 per month tax free on his London property.
MP's should not be allowed to designate which property is the main residence and which is their second home so as to give them the opportunity to max out on their 'expenses'. It should be based on facts, and decided by a third party.
However even that is debatable - why do they need second homes? For Purnell, if he comes up to Broadbottom one night a fortnight he should be allowed the cost of a reasonable local hotel, provided he sends in a receipt.
For MP's who are truy from the provinces we should either put them up in a Travellodge or convert some empty office block near Westminster into a hostel for MP's that they can use free of charge when in London on government or parliamentary business.
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