Having A Bad Day
The ABC report on another British MP who stepped into the expenses mess: ‘Ashamed’ MP says ducks rejected island
A British Conservative politician says he feels “ashamed and humiliated” over claiming expenses for a ‘duck island’ to put in his garden pond – and he admitted the ducks did not like it anyway.
Sir Peter Viggers was forced to announce his resignation on Thursday (local time) over the 1,600 pound ($3,300) aquatic home, the latest embarrassing revelation in an expenses row which has shaken Britain’s House of Commons.
He issued a statement pointing out that the claim had been refused by the Fees Office – which has come under fire over claims ranging from swimming pool and tennis court repairs to cleaning a moat.
But he admitted that he should never have claimed for it in the first place.
Getting dissed by your own ducks has to be nearly as bad as it gets. Before we make fun of the attempt to claim money for moat cleaning, we need to check on the activities of the GOP. I can imagine a couple of them having a moat. I can certainly imagine Dick “Dick” Cheney having a moat. The guy had a dungeon built under Blair House.
4 comments
Viggers also claimed £500 for manure.. I thought politicians created that commodity in limitless amounts!
That said the duck island claim was too outrageous even for the powers that be and it was rejected. Perhaps he shoud ahve claimed it was his London pied a terre!
jams O\’Donnell´s last blog post..
Unless manure is tens times more dear in the UK than the US, you would need a farm for £500 worth, and if the price is like that you would have cows and horses for no other purpose. Around here, several stables have “shovel your own for free” policies.
Having seen a picture of the “island”, I’m not surprised the ducks rejected it. They obviously have better taste than Viggers. That he paid £1,600 for it is clear proof he shouldn’t be near the public purse.
if it walks like a duck….
He certainly showed more understanding for the problem of expenses than Mr. Steen.
They do these things because the power goes to their head, and they believe they have a “right” to be treated better than everyone else. They don’t seem to understand that they are public servants, just like a postal worker, except they weren’t tested for competence before they got the job.
Actually, he is limping like a lame duck at this point, DC.