Brown doesn't get it

Remember what I was saying about any organisation without accountability descending into corruption sooner or later. The prime example being the House of Commons and it's expenses scheme. There was no fear that any party would blow the whistle as the majority of all parties were at it and while it remained secret, it always carried on.

The Telegraph's scoop picked up Shahid Malik's tv and massage chair but also something else - he was getting his constituency flat provided at a way below market rates, that's appeared to be a breach of the Ministerial code because there's a possibility that he would be beholden to that landlord. Malik stepped down from his Justice Ministry post on 16 May and the matter was to be investigated.

With Brown running out of ministers, Malik was welcomed back to the Government, as a junior Communities ministers, having been given a clean bill of health from Sir Philip Mawer.

The catch? Mawer's exoneration of Malik will not be published, not even in edited form. Downing Street have blocked it. I'm sure that they are correct and Malik's done nothing wrong, but it doesn't do him any good to have the taint of "maybe he did it" attached to him. So please Brown, publish the report, publish it in full and let Malik carry on as a minister, his reputation unsullied.