Pandora's Box

If this report is true, it immediately begs the question where to start.

If claiming for 'phantom mortgages' is to be considered a crime, then surely so is this and this. Claiming for more than the sum total is false accounting, is it not? Presumably also payment to a tanning centre, whether a subscription or a donation, can hardly be called an expense 'necessary to perform one's duty as an MP'.

The statement that "Officers believe there is only a realistic chance of prosecution in cases where it can be proved individuals misled Parliament's Fees Office." also, it is felt, covers cases where MPs have 'flipped' for financial gain.

"Lord Mandelson said it was "inevitable" that the police would become involved, adding: "If there is wrongdoing it needs to be investigated. That's how we do things in Britain."

In which case we can expect Mandelson's 'obtaining a mortgage under false pretences' will also be investigated?

This truly has opened a 'Pandora's Box' - has it not?