Government minister Shahid Malik is paid a salary of £95,617 as junior minister at the Ministry of Justice. Yet on top of this he has claimed in 2005-06: £21,634, in 2006-07: £22,110 and in 2007-08: £23,083 for a second home allowance on a house he already owns in Peckham that he bought in 2001 for £85,000. He does not own another property, in his constituency, but he does rent a property from a slum landlord at a knock down below market rate rate of £100 per week... and which itself seems to be used by a constituency worker. He rents his local office from the same landlord... at public expense of course of £4000pa. In addition to the second home allowance Mr Malik has claimed thousands for a variety of items such as furntiture, home cinema, and a massgae chair? He also regularly claims £400 per month food allowance... apparently his salary doesn't cover that! But to be fair, now that all this has been pointed out to him, he has agreed to pay some of the money back... well, £65 actually... which was what he claimed for payment of a court summons for his non payment of council tax! I kid you not.Of course, all of this was done within the rules... no crime was committed, and no punishment will be forthcoming.
What price justice?
(Reported today: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5326333/Shahid-Malik-his-house-and-the-slum-landlord-MPs-expenses.html)
