Great Lies

I can't understand why everyone is so surprised that members of all political parties have been caught fiddling their expenses. As far as I can see fiddling expenses (or claiming that you have not fiddled your expenses) is one of the great lies of mankind. (Other great lies include "I gave at the office", "the cheque's in the post" and "It's me not you").

Take this recent reminder from our workplace...

Just a gentle reminder about your mileage claims and how these work in relation to the travel to your normal workplace. I have copied the relevant extract from the staff handbook below:

1.1 When travelling between sites you should claim mileage in accordance with the distances given on the inter-site mileage chart published on the website and in the Staff Handbook.

1.2 If you travel between your home and a location other than your normal place of work, you should deduct the miles/cost of your normal journey to work, if ascertainable, from the total and claim only for the additional cost incurred.

1.3 You are entitled to claim for parking charges. Parking fines will not be paid.

I enclose the inter-site mileage chart and also the mileage chart I have compiled using previous travel claims etc. The mileage on my chart should of course only be used if you actually travel from work.

Now who of us have not slipped in a few extra miles or combined some work related travel (which we have claimed back) with a visit to an old friend in the area? Have you ever extended an overseas business trip into the weekend and had a nice jolly with the travel expenses paid by your employer?

You are only disappointed that our politicians have been doing this as well (all be it on a larger scale) if you believed that somehow politicians were more honest than the rest of us and that would be naivety in the extreme!

My father used to say to me when I was a child

"Lovely, everyone is one the fiddle".

I used to think he was an embittered cynic!