The names of 220 MPs who received lump sum 'golden goodbyes' worth up to £65,738 after leaving the Commons in 2010 have been published by Parliament.
But while Commons have risked accusations of attempting to orchestrate a cover up after they failed to detail how much each former MP received.
The list was only publishedthis week following a freedom of information request by the Leicester Mercury.
The paper has questioned why some MPs who had well-paid jobs outside Parliament would need to accept a taxpayer funded redundancy package.
MPs that leave Parliament are allowed to claim a sum worth up to £65,738, their annual salary, in order to help them readjust to civilian life.
The grant is a varying proportion of a MPs final salary, based on age and length of service.
For example a departing MP who is 64 years of age and has been in Parliament for over fifteen years is entitled to 100 per cent of the sum.
While an MP who is under 50 years of age and has served less than ten years in Parliament is only able to claim 50 per cent.
Among the 220 MPs to claim the grant were former deputy prime minister John, now Lord, Prescott and former Labour cabinet minister Patricia Hewitt.
Several MPs who left Parliament after being shamed by the 2009 expenses scandal have also taken advantage of the scheme including Conservative Douglas Hogg who infamously claimed public money to clean his moat at his country estate.
Five MPs who left Parliament have not been awarded a resettlement grant. This includes David Chaytor, Jim Devine and Elliott Morley, all of whom have been convicted of fraud related to their expense claims.
Former MP Harry Cohen was stripped of his grant as punishment for misuse of his expenses.
Rudi Vis did not receive a payment as he sadly died soon after the 2010 general election.
Article Comments
No airyfairy you are right it is unseemly that MPs can receive hand shakes of money to help them adapt to 'civilian' life what con they claim to be normal people but we can see through the con 'cos we are the normal people who would gladly do the job without the expenses.
cMcD
7th Apr 2011 at 5:40 pm
Am I alone in finding it outrageous that the likes of Prescott should receive not only a peerage but also a 'golden goodbye' from the Commons? Talk about 'jobs for the boys'!
airyfairy
7th Apr 2011 at 8:46 am
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