MPs' expenses: nothing to see here. Move along now

Remarkable. The Palace of Westminster has been distinctly quiet all day today, with most MPs hiding in their burrows and hoping that the whole expenses thing will just go away.

But the best and most shameful illustration of our elected representatives' scaredy-cat behaviour today is that the House of Commons has just packed up for the day, more than three hours early, because no-one wanted to speak.

According to the Order Paper, MPs should be debating some (admittedly technical and fiddly) bits of tax law until 6pm, followed by an adjournment debate on train services to Northumberland.*

But no, debating such things as taxation is not for our MPs. For lack of members to speak, the business ended just short of 2.30pm.

As I noted last week, this is part of a pattern. But the fact that MPs can't even show their faces in the Commons chamber today adds yet another infamous chapter to the expenses story.

* — I declare an interest. I'm from Northumberland, and don't get back there as often as I'd like. This is partly because of the frankly comical expense of train tickets. I know organised crime gangs who would blush at the extortion routinely carried out by the Government-controlled East Coast.