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The husband of a Labour MP has been paid by four MPs in the party for personal accountancy advice, at taxpayers' expense, it was claimed in the Daily Telegraph.Three ministers, John Healey, ­Gillian Merron and Jim Knight, and one former minister, Angela Smith, all employed tax adviser Dennis Bates - who is married to the Sheffield Heeley MP Meg Munn.The four MPs have issued a statement ­saying that Bates, as a former employee of the Inland Revenue, was 'eminently qualified' to give them tax advice.Yesterday it was revealed that a group of eight senior cabinet ministers claimed about £11,000 of public money to help them complete their tax returns.It emerged that the accountancy bill of the chancellor, Alistair Darling, had come to £1,400 over two years, while transport secretary Geoff Hoon's claims came to almost £3,000.A Labour party aide insisted that the claims were legitimate and laid down in the green book, which governs MPs' expenses, specifically stating that claims for accountan

. Helena Kennedy seeks referendum on PR. Best-selling author held talks on challenging ToryThe Labour peer and civil liberties ­campaigner Helena Kennedy tonightdenied she was attempting to organise a grouping of candidates to stand in elections against MPs discredited by revelations about their expenses.Friends of the QC said she was drumming up volunteers to stand as independents across the country, united in pushing for parliamentary reform, although there was no suggestion that she would stand.They said the attempt, which would include a limit on the time MPs could sit, a bid to have US-style primaries and a new constitutional settlement, began at a meeting at her home two Sundays ago.Robert Harris, the bestselling author, yesterday told the Guardian he held talks with Kennedy and considered standing against Conservative MP and frontbencher Alan Duncan in Rutland and Melton, but had decided not to. ­Duncan, who oversees his party's policy on expenses, claimed £4,000 between 2004 an

YouTube may see the odd flurry of activity where groups attempt to flood the service with pornography, but Google’s attention needs to be on video comments as much as the content itself. A recent report from PandaLabs has found that the site is riddled with malicious spam (malspam) located in rogue comments. In total over 30,000 [...]

President barack obama avoided a racial controversy on his first Memorial Day in office by sending wreaths to separate memorials for Confederate soldiers and for blacks who fought against them during the Civil War. Last week, a group of about 60 professors...

Monte Petrano, Italy - Reigning Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre of Spain won the 16th stage of the Giro d'Italia on Monday while Russian Denis Menchov retained the overall lead by finishing second. A 20-strong breakaway group formed early in th...

Emarald [sic] Lake drawing by Group of Seven founder marks high point of Sotheby's / Ritchies spring auction

AUSTRALIAN women are as keen as men to take part in consensual group sex, and they initiate it almost as often are the findings of an online sex survey.

Hispanic groups want history to be made with a Latino or Latina justice when President Obama makes his selection to fill the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy.

HENAN, China, (christiansunite.com) -- On the afternoon of May 9, the remaining 16 Christians from China Gospel Fellowship (CGF) house church group who were imprisoned by the security Bureau (PSB) in ...

The new CD Bach in Havana, from the Miami-based Cuban group Tiempo Libre, blends Bach melodies, from pieces such as the Mass in B minor and the Well-Tempered Clavier, with infectious Cuban rhythms including the cha-cha-cha, the son and the danzon.