Here’s EU gravy train in its shocking extravagance, writes ANN WIDDECOMBE
Not for nothing is the EU Parliament called a gravy train. There is an allowance of about £4,000 a month which is paid automatically and which is tax-free.
You don’t have to claim anything or account for what you do with it: it just comes, month on month, and is supposed to fund constituency expenses such as offices or staff back in the UK. Given the short span we had to serve, I set up a website and used my staff in Brussels to deal with casework, thus using precious little of this largesse, which I shall naturally repay.
It is also known that some MEPs simply keep the money whether they have used it all or not, year on year throughout their term of service.
It has been going on for a long time but no action has been taken to implement proper accounting.
And we think Westminster MPs abuse expenses!