Caroline Spelman gets away with it too...

Following the lack of anything being done about Jacqui Smith's shameful manipulation of the MPs expenses system to her financial advantage, it looks like Caroline Spelman is also getting away with paying someone who appeared to be doing little more than nannying duties for her out of the public purse when this is not allowed by the rules.

Jon Craig on the Sky News blog reports that she has been made to repay £9,600 in "overpayments" but the judgement appears to have been very sympathetic and it looks like she is off the hook politically.

I was at the the Convention of Modern Liberty at the weekend and during one of the sessions, Peter Oborne said that the Westminster system is structured in such a way as it is now effectively the political classes in a conspiracy against ordinary people in this country. When I see the Tories and Labour behaving like this and getting away with it I can't help but wonder if he is right.