Shields Up!

From an article in The Guardian, it appears that the British Parliament can be just as sleazy as any American political body.

Ministers are poised to exempt all MPs and peers from having to publish details of their expenses, only weeks before MPs were due to be forced to disclose more than 1.2 million receipts covering claims for the last three years.The move next week will allow parliament to nullify all the long-fought victories by campaigners and journalists to force MPs to publish details of all their individual receipts for their second homes, including details of what they spent on furnishings, maintenance, rent, mortgage payments, staffing, travel, office staffing and equipment. The changes will be retrospective and all pending requests for more information under the Freedom of Information Act will be blocked. ... MPs in both parties have already been embarrassed by disclosures under the FOI about their expenditure.

So much for the grace and gentility idea.