Really fascinating seeing the footage of three Labour MPs and one Conservative peer arriving at court for the hearing of the criminal charges against them.
The coverage on BBC News channel raises an eyebrow. If all three MPs had been MPs from any other party, one suspects that the BBC would have made a big deal of the matter.
As they are all Labour Party MPs, their political allegiances are being somewhat downplayed.
It is really important not to blog with any opinions on the cases against those accused.
However, there is an interesting point in the write up of today's Magistrates Court appearance in The Times.
The newspaper notes their lawyer: "...told City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court it would also be unfair for the men to face a criminal trial when other MPs accused of fiddling their expenses had been dealt with by the parliamentary authorities."
This does seem to be a reasonable line to pursue.
There is one very high profile politician whose expense claims - including allegations of 'flipping' - were very big news. This blogger is therefore rather puzzled as to why they are not also in the dock.
So, how or why these particular MPs and one peer have ended up in the dock whilst others have just been allowed to repay (sometimes huge) sums of money is a bit baffling.
Perhaps the reasons will come out when the accused stand trial - if it gets that far.
On the face of it, at this stage, it is rather strange seeming that such a small handful are in the historically shocking position that they find themselves.
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