Pre-trial hearings are generally kept out of the media. But are MPs' expenses important enough to make an exception?
Three MPs and a House of Lords peer face charges of false accounting over their expenses claims.
The case is currently at the pre-trial stage. Normally, the media are not allowed to report on hearings at this stage in case they affect the outcome of the trial.
But a group, including the Times newspaper, is launching a legal challenge to this, arguing that it is in the public interest to allow these hearings to be reported.
Pia Sarma, senior legal adviser at The Times, said: “It would be completely contradictory to the workings of open justice if the attempts by these ministers to avoid criminal prosecution are heard in private and away from the scrutiny of the public.”
At the hearings, the four politicians will argue that the allegations should be dealt with in Parliament, not in the courts.
This is because of “parliamentary privilege”. MPs are protected from some laws when working in parliament: for example, they have absolute free speech in parliament, and cannot be tried for slander.
The accused politicians say that as expenses claims are part of the workings of parliament, they should be dealt with by parliament.
They will argue their case at Southwark crown court. It is these proceedings that the media groups want to be allowed to report on.
Should reporting restrictions be lifted for this case? Should the expenses allegations be dealt with in parliament? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
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Comments
I do think that the media should be aloud to comment on the MP's expenses. Their job is to represent our country and be fair. So why should'nt the media be allowed to comment on the matter?????
13-05-10
I do believe the public should be given details of the expenses. Parliament are elected by the electorate and are therefore about to us, without our votes, they would not receive the generous allowances to begin with. Their job is to represent the electorate; therefore to improve the transparency of the Government, they must be held accountable - publicly. No one is above the law, the rule of law is superior, therefore MP's must be prosecuted as any one else would be.
08-05-10
Any comments?