Page last updated at 19:55 GMT, Saturday, 9 May 2009 20:55 UK
Lord Carey said MPs could not police themselves
Parliament's moral authority has slumped to its "lowest ebb in living memory", former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has said.
Lord Carey told the News of the World that leaked reports about MPs' expenses had shaken trust in politics.
He said the revelations had exposed the "clawing greed" at the heart of Westminster's "culture of abuse".
MPs who were the subject of Daily Telegraph articles about expenses have insisted the stories were inaccurate.
'Political betrayal'
In the News of the World, Lord Carey questioned whether public trust in politicians could ever be restored following the exposure of "systematic abuse".
He said many MPs had come to see their allowances as a "right rather than a privilege", and contrasted the spectacle of ministers "cringingly" justifying their expenses while their constituents suffered as a result of the recession.
This threatens to be the straw that finally breaks the camel's back
Lord Carey
"It is not just the clawing greed of painstaking claims for such minor items as tampons, barbecue sets and bathrobes, but also the egregious way some have transferred allowances from one second property to another - enabling them to refurbish homes at public expense, then sell them for profit," Lord Carey added.
"Coming at a time of financial crisis and political betrayal of the Gurkhas, this threatens to be the straw that finally breaks the camel's back."
Lord Carey acknowledged that many MPs had "honour and integrity". He said he had recently met Gordon Brown and been convinced the prime minister was driven by "a desire to serve his country".
But he said the affair had demonstrated that politicians could not police themselves, and called for an independent body to oversee any proposals about reform to the expenses system.
Also in the News of the World, a poll by ICM of 508 adults suggests that more than two-thirds of respondents said they believed the expenses revelations had damaged the prime minister.
Some 89% believed the reputation of parliament had been tarnished, and 91% said they wanted expenses records to be published in full straight away.
Further revelations
However, MPs have hit back over the Telegraph's most recent reports.
Immigration minister Phil Woolas has threatened legal action over "disgusting" allegations he claimed for women's clothing, nappies and comics, and Health minister Ben Bradshaw said the Telegraph's report about his expenses was factually wrong.
Margaret Moran, Labour MP for Luton South, told the BBC that allegations that she claimed over £20,000 for a house in Southampton 100 miles from her constituency were "inaccurate" and "probably actionable".
Labour ministers Phil Hope and Barbara Follett, as well as Tory MP Greg Barker, who were also named, say they have not broken parliamentary rules.
The day before, the Telegraph published details of 13 Cabinet ministers' expenses. It plans to publish further revelations about MPs from other parties in the coming days.
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Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8042214.stm
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