Barbara Follet our current number two in "the top five most shameless MPs" has announced at her website that:

After careful consideration of the letters and feedback I have received from my Stevenage constituents, I decided to repay the amounts that I had claimed from the House of Commons Fees Office to cover part of the security costs on my London home for the period 2004/5 to 2007/8 and the as yet unpublished period 2008/9; also for the repair and cleaning of a child's rug which was claimed in error.

The Fees Office did not ask me to do this, nor did they feel that it was necessary for me to do this. But some of my constituents, whose opinion I value and respect, did.

I just want to dwell on that line "The Fees Office did not ask me to do this, nor did they feel that it was necessary for me to do this." My goodness Barbara - using The Fees Office to measure up against on the integrity stakes right now will not cut muster with the good people of Stevenage. The adjudications of The Fees Office have been shown to be so far removed from what ordinary decent people feel right and proper, that you are displaying a truly pathetic grasp of the issue here by having them as a "barometer" of probity. Anyway, let's consult the MPs expenses own rule book and see what it has to say about security shall we?

Under examples of allowable expenditure - "Basic security measures door/window locks, intruder alarms, external security lighting". Not, you will note, private security patrols the total cost of which, between 2004 and 2008, was a staggering £25,411.64.

This is all about judgement and integrity. Barbara just didn't get it until she was forced to face it. Let's hope our little campaign helped in some small way to get that cash paid back. After all when you Google "barbara follet expenses" you see a link to us here on page one usually, so no doubt Mrs Follet (and "friends") spotted that and had casue to reflect.

She writes "I will be sending a letter to each of my constituents, at my own expense, about these claims, before Parliament recesses in July." Yes, nice when you can afford to pay for your own "spin" - perhaps you should have considered paying for your own private security in the first place? Shameless.