Boost MP cash scrutiny, urges Brown

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The Prime Minister said there should be more "transparency" over how and where MPs spend their allowances, as the Old Bexley and Sidcup MP was also ordered to repay up to £13,161 he had improperly awarded to his son Freddie.

In a 35-minute debate in the Commons, Labour's Frank Field questioned whether the punishment was adequate.

The MPs' Members' Estimate Committee is now considering plans for the National Audit Office to conduct random spot checks of up to 10% of MPs' expenses claims to reassure the public they are genuine.

Liberal Democrat spokesman on Commons affairs Simon Hughes called for that system to be in place by April 1 this year.

Mr Conway, who has had the Tory whip withdrawn from him and has announced he will step down at the next election, was not in the chamber to hear MPs discuss his case. They endorsed the punishment recommended by the Standards and Privileges Committee without a vote, but Mr Field questioned whether it was enough.

He told MPs: "If this example of what I would see as embezzlement had occurred in the refreshment department on this scale, we would have expected that person to leave the employment of this establishment on that day. I believe we should treat ourselves in a similar manner."

The move for greater transparency in MPs' expenses to limit the damage done to Parliament's reputation gathered pace, with first Justice Secretary Jack Straw and then Downing Street speaking out.

Mr Brown's spokesman said: "The Prime Minister agrees with Jack Straw that there should be greater transparency over MPs' expenses.

"Exactly how this should be achieved is, of course, a matter for the House authorities to consider."