Expense claims

On Thursday 21 May 2009 Newsround told kids about some of the outrageous claims MPs were making.

Sonali: More news. And the row over politicians and money is still going on. This man spent more than £1,600 of our money on a floating duck island, like this one, for his garden pond.



Sonali: Lots of people are now so fed up with it all, that they want an election straight away so everyone can decide which politicians they want to keep and which ones they want to kick out.

Yes, Sonali really did stress that it was "our money." Newsround was mistaken because, like Frank Cook's charity expense claim mentioned in my last blog, this claim by Peter Viggers MP was rejected. None of "our money" was involved in that instance. But the same is not true of BBC management's unconscionable expenses. Perhaps Newsround should establish editorial integrity by putting a few pertinent questions to those senior managers, all of whom earn much, much more than MPs.

Senior mangers, whilst apparently concerned not to "short-change licence-fee payers," at the same time spend "our money" on flowers, partying and gifts. Is there any other word than hypocrisy? Where is Newsround's investigation?