How much should MPs be allowed to keep confidential?

The High Court has ruled that Members of Parliament must disclose details of expenses claimed for second homes and the location of those properties.

House of Commons authorities had sought to block the publication of second-home expense claims for 14 current and former MPs — including Tony Blair and Gordon Brown — requested under the Freedom of Information Act.

It had been argued on behalf of the politicians that publication of the addresses of second homes would pose a security risk and could inhibit what politicians would be
prepared to say publicly.

But Mr Justice Igor Judge disagreed, saying it was in the public interest to have a detailed breakdown of second-home allowances and that anyone determined enough could find an MP’s address anyway.

Under the so-called “John Lewis list” MPs can claim items up to 23,000 pounds a year for second homes, they need to be near their constituents. The details are here. They include for example 10,000 pounds for a new kitchen and over 6,000 pounds for a new bathroom.

Some critics have said the secret system allowed MPs effectively to “write their own cheques” but others say the war on MPs’ expenses has gone far enough — that they are public servants who devote a huge amount of their time to their jobs as MPs, often during antisocial hours and far from their homes and that they deserve some help if we are to have an effective national parliament.

What do you think?

We’ve all been there — or at least some of us have, according to the UFO report — you’re sitting there at night quietly fishing, minding your own business, when all Hell breaks loose, bright lights flashing everywhere and down comes the flying saucer again. No chance of getting a nibble now.

But the little men in green overalls seem quite friendly and after all the “take me to your leader” stuff is over, they seem to want to chat.

Scientists from the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence project believe any aliens who manage to make contact will be far more advanced than us so you might need to be a bit careful about what you tell E.T.

SETI says we’ve been a bit idealistic so far, sending up all sorts of positive messages about mankind in the first Voyager spacecraft in 1977 and that perhaps a bit more of the dark side like war and global warming wouldn’t go amiss.

Do you believe flying saucers could exist — and what would YOU say to an alien?

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill receives its second reading on Monday and over the next few weeks it will work its way through the House of Commons — along with a host of amendments on lowering the age limit for abortions.

These variously suggest the current 24-weeks limit should be reduced to 22, 20, 18, 16 or even 13 weeks, with MPs’ votes expected next week.

Those opposed to abortion seek to lower the upper limit, beyond which abortion should not be permitted. They say life starts far earlier than 24 weeks and their case has been strengthened by new images showing foetuses as young as 16 weeks showing signs of relatively developed behaviour.

Proponents of a woman’s right to choose say those who have abortions later in a pregnancy  are often in desperate circumstances, maybe having lost a partner through death or separation, or suffering from domestic violence or poverty. 

A poll in the Guardian suggests MPs will reject calls to lower the limit.

Do you think the MPs would be right to do so?

The latest initiative to tackle anti-social behaviour and an apparent loophole in airport security feature prominently on Thursday’s front pages, along with the Chelsea gun siege and the Austrian house of horrors.

The Guardian says Home Secretary Jacqui Smith  wants police to harass anti-social youths and make life as unpleasant for them as they do for their victims. Young thugs should be hounded and filmed.  Story here

The Daily Telegraph is among several newspapers to pick up a BBC 2 “Newsnight” expose that foreign employees working in sensitive airport locations are not having their criminal records checked because of the time and effort that would involve. Story here 

The Daily Mail features a picture of the wife of the Chelsea siege gunman looking on in horror during the standoff and runs the story under the headline: “I Love My Wife Dearly” — the message the paper says he threw out of a window before his death. Story here

A report that suggests Britain wastes around 10 billion pounds worth of food a year is the subject of The Independent front page. The paper says most of the waste is made up of entirely untouched food products. Story here

The Sun splashes what it says is the last picture of Elisabeth Fritzl before she was imprisoned for 24 years in a cellar by her father. Story here, while the Daily Mirror leads on the father’s insistence that he is not a monster because at least he did not kill his daughter and the children he fathered with her. Story here

The Times carries allegations from an Iraqi cleaner and two cooks that a culture of sexual harassment, abuse and bullying exists at the British embassy in Baghdad. Story here

The prospect of household energy bills rising up to 40 percent this Winter as oil prices continue to go up is the lead story in the Daily Express. Story here 

The Financial Times meanwhile concentrates on the link-up between Carphone Warehouse and Best Buy of the U.S. Story here

The government has decided to tighten the law on cannabis, reinstating it to a Class B drug, because of fears over the high-strength skunk variety now prevalent on the streets.

Cannabis was downgraded to Class C — which includes substances such as anabolic steroids — in 2004. That meant possession of the drug was treated largely as a non-arrestable offence. The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs recommended it should stay as Class C.

Since 2004 there has been much debate on the dangers of repeated use of cannabis, the likelihood of its fostering psychotic behaviour and its role as a possible “gateway” to more dangerous drugs. 

Do you believe Gordon Brown is right in putting cannabis back in Class B? 

Labour has lost at least 200 seats in the local elections in England and Wales — leaving it in its worst position since the days of Harold Wilson — and even before the results of the London mayoral contest are known, some political analysts are saying Gordon Brown will lose the next general election unless the economy improves.

But others say this was a vote against Labour rather than a vote for the Conservatives and that governments, especially those that have been in power for as long as Labour, always take a knock in local elections. Look at Tony Blair in 2004 just a year before he swept home again.

The next general election doesn’t have to be called until 2010 and even a week is a long time in politics, they point out.

Do you think the writing is on the wall for Brown, or can Labour win a fourth term in the next general election?

Sir David Attenborough has accused the BBC of chasing ratings and overloading the schedules with too many makeover programmes and celebrity chefs.

Where, he asks, are the programmes about science for example like the long-defunct “Tomorrow’s World?”

“Do we really require so many gardening programmes, makeover programmes or celebrity chefs,” he asks. “Is it not a scandal in this day and age that there seems to be no place for continuing series of programmes about science, or serious music or thoughtful, in-depth interviews with people other than politicians?”

Attenborough joined the BBC in 1952 so he’s been around the corporation a long time. Do you think he’s right or has he had his day?

Britons are becoming ruder, according to a poll, with boorish behaviour fuelled by a lack of respect for authority and the failure of parents to teach their children manners.

Foul mouthed celebs and footballers are adding to the problem, with spitting and swearing the two features that people hate most, the ITV poll says.

Broadcaster Esther Rantzen suggests it might be partially the parents’ fault because youth culture in the 1960s and 70s “threw out every rule book and thought it was really clever to use four-letter words.”

Do you agree?

Britain’s rich are getting richer, according to the annual Sunday Times list.

While most Britons are feeling the effect of the credit crunch, looking nervously at their mortgage burdens and gasping at the size of the utility bills, the super-rich just keep piling it on, it seems.

At the top of the list for the fourth year is Lakshmi Mittal, the 57-year-old Indian steel magnate, whose wealth increased 44 percent to 27.7 billion pounds.

Other high-rankers were businessmen Philip Green, Richard Branson and Stelios Haji-Ioannou, author J.K. Rowling and musicians Paul McCartney and Amy Winehouse.

One respondent wrote: “I have just finished reading the Sunday Times rich list and it has made me sick.”

That’s what rich lists are for of course, but many may be feeling this year that perhaps the fundamental balance between the rich and the rest is changing, that the gap is getting wider and more permanent. Others will be encouraged that such huge rewards are available in Britain and redouble their efforts to make money.

What sort of reaction does the Rich List provoke in you?

Glyn Travis of the Prison Officers’ Association says British jails are so cushy that  even seasoned escapers prefer to stay inside.

In comments widely reported on Friday (available to browse here), he lists a series of home comforts enjoyed by inmates reminiscent of Ronnie Barker’s reign at HMP Slade in “Porridge” – breakfast in bed, control over the staff, visits from prostitutes and so on.

Do you have any experience of the Prison Service on either side of the fence? Do you agree with Travis’ remarks?