Legg Shoots Himself in the Foot?

If, and it is a big if, media reports are to be believe, then the crisis handling of MPs expenses is getting worse.

There is a crisis, based on real public anger at what is going on in the Westminster village, but those with an understanding of crisis management will not understand how it is being handled. First, no single person seems to be charge. Second, some of the solutions now being offered don't even address the key questions being asked.

Stopping the second mortgages is defensible, and I always thought that MPs should rent, possibly in one or two specially built locations. At one time Dolphin Square would have been ideal. But why focus on MPs employees? Yes, nepotism does go on, as it does in other sectors. There are individual cases, such as Derek Conway, that appear to the public to be seriously wrong, and possibly worthy of prosecution, but by and large this is not and never really has been systematically a major issue. Many will consider that it is perfectly legitimate for an MP to employ their spouse to help keep their marriage together, if they beleive it will and the spouse can do the job.

The real concern is with the major abuses such as flipping mortgages to avoid stamp duty, ostentatious expenses such as the moat cleaning and duck abodes and some potentially fraudulent claims. I am more interested in hearing about these, not that an MPs wife might be unfairly made constructively redundant. If an MPs spouse goes to an employment tribunal, will they cite their husband/wife or the parliamentary authorities?

Sir Thomas please reload up your gun and aim at the right target this time, or you will go down in history as part of the problem and not the solution.