LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s ailing Labour government suffered another blow to its authority yesterday when a newspaper published details of expense claims made by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other ministers.
Brown, trailing the opposition Conservative Party in opinion polls ahead of an election due by mid-2010, reclaimed 6,577 pounds ($9,866) he paid his brother for cleaning services at his London flat, the right-leaning Daily Telegraph reported.
A spokesman for Brown’s office told the newspaper he was reimbursing his brother for his share of the cost for a cleaner they jointly employed, and was within parliamentary rules.
But the report, four weeks before local and European elections, added to public perceptions that lawmakers are taking full advantage of generous perks while ordinary people struggle to cope with a harsh economic recession.
