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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Brown warns Labour rule-breakers | Brown warns Labour rule-breakers |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Any Labour MP found to have "defied the rules" with their expenses claims will not be allowed to stand at the next general election, says Gordon Brown. | Any Labour MP found to have "defied the rules" with their expenses claims will not be allowed to stand at the next general election, says Gordon Brown. |
| The prime minister also said he would be proposing "a fundamental rethink" of the allowances system at a meeting of party leaders later. | The prime minister also said he would be proposing "a fundamental rethink" of the allowances system at a meeting of party leaders later. |
| Two Labour MPs have been suspended for claiming for mortgage interest payments after their mortgages were paid off. | Two Labour MPs have been suspended for claiming for mortgage interest payments after their mortgages were paid off. |
| Some ministers have also faced questions about their expenses claims. | Some ministers have also faced questions about their expenses claims. |
| But several have said while they agree the system needs to change - their claims were made within the rules at the time. | But several have said while they agree the system needs to change - their claims were made within the rules at the time. |
| 'Highest standards' | |
| Mr Brown said MPs were elected to serve the public rather than themselves and insisted he was committed to a "complete clean-up of the system". | |
| He added: "No minister will be in the cabinet or in the government in future if it is proven that they defied the rules." | |
| In a joint statement, Cath Speight, Chair of Labour's National Executive Committee, and Ray Collins, the party's General Secretary, said the NEC fully supported the prime minister. | |
| They added that the committee had endorsed a "tough new disciplinary process" to prevent MPs who had broken the rules from standing for parliament as Labour candidates. | |
| An NEC panel would be set up to interview MPs who were the subject of allegations, they said. | |
| This will have the power to recommend to the NEC that MPs should not stand for the Commons under the Labour banner. | |
| "Labour Party members expect the highest standards from Labour representatives and the NEC resolved today that any allegations must be fully investigated, and when appropriate by the proper independent authorities," the statement added. |