It was revealed today by the Daily Telegraph that they paid a mole in the Government’s stationary office £110,000 for its expenses exclusive.

It was revealed that the mole who was working in the government stationary office to ‘redact’ mp’s expense details that the motivation behind their actions was their concern for British armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.  This shows that the moles main motivations were not money.

The mole also reveals to the Daily Telegraph investigation that those involved in the year-long process – some two dozen parliamentary staff, civil servants and others hired from an employment agency – were angered at what they discovered.  At one point the mole says that a temporary halt to work had to be called in the stationary office in order to calm staff.

The account given on condition of anonymity, forms a key part of the book No Expenses Spared*, written by Robert Winnett and Gordon Rayner, the two Telegraph journalists who spearheaded the paper’s revelatory expenses stories.

There has been no official investigation to discover who the leaker perhaps there is no motivation in Whitehall and Westminster or maybe they are just waiting for the expenses scandal to blow over.

Although this is not linked to the mole this is an interesting story as well.  Off duty soldiers who were employed as security guards by the Stationary to prevent exactly the kind of leaks that occured with the Daily Telegraph.  This is relevant as they included Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who were using their own holidays to earn extra money to bump up their own wages so that they could afford luxuries such as Christmas presents as well as being able to pay for basics such as body armour (e.g. Kevlar armour costing £750) and decent army boots for their tours.  Which to the ordinary member of the public would expect the government to provide!

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