"Such impertinence!"

Complaints about Germans' sense of humour have been overstated if this thoroughly enjoyable six minute (subtitled) video is anything to go by. A German news crew sets up its cameras in the European Parliament to film MEPs turning up at 7am to claim their daily expenses and then heading straight home. Before long, MEPs are fleeing to the lifts and hiding their faces from the cameras. Their shame ends when they chillingly persuade the Parliament to kick out the film crew so that they can continue to cheat on their expenses unobserved. Of course, the Parliament obliges.

(Link from David Frum, who comments: "It's good to be a Euro MP! 14,000 euros a month in salary and allowances - and the right to eject from the building any journalists who asks, never mind how politely, whether you actually showed up for work on days you claimed credit.")

Comments

[Simon Chapman]

Awesomely outrageous. The German Green was a particular joy, as was the Irish MEP who claimed to have been working that orthodox office shift between midnight and 7.00 am.

Who needs satire when this is reality?

[Deborah]

Some years ago I heard a similar report on the radio. On that occasion it was our very own Christopher Beazley MEP who was chastising the journalist for their impertinence.
The video is great.

[Sally Roberts]

Let me ask any of you - do you work for a company or organisation where any old film crew can just turn up and start filming the people at work there? Of course not - they too would be kicked out by Security and rightly so. Of course this was impertinence and the MEPs were being subjected to harassment. It was a disgraceful piece of film.

[Cllr Tony Sharp]

Following Sally's comments it is clear satire is dead. Never mind the fact the crew had passes to work in the Parliament building and the rules (broken by the EU mandarins because of their shame) allow the crew to film in the corridor.

Sally, do explain in what way exposure of the fraudulent acquisition of allowances, to which these MEPs were not entitled if they were not doing any work in the building, was disgraceful. When replying remember this is OUR money.

[Sally Roberts]

Tony they were working and as I said - I cannot think of any workplace (including your Town Hall) where ad hoc film crews would be allowed in to do more or less as they like!

[Sally Roberts]

As for your comment about it being "our" money - I do not begrudge them a penny of it!

[Richard Holloway]

As long as there are brave people willing to be impertinent my hope in democracy is kept alight.
If ever a film crew deserved an award for services to the public good it's this team.
Any chance anyone can hack BBC Parliament and have this running on a cycle, now that would be excellent.

[cjcjc]

As explained, these were not "ad-hoc" film crews, who had permission to flim, nor is the European Parliament a place of private business like my office and, well, the "work" they were doing was fraudulently signing-in.

Pathetic.

[cosmic]

Sally,

I don't see how they were working - in a corridor.

In any case, wasn't the point that they weren't working, they were signing on to collect an allowance for the whole day, and then beating it.

[Deborah]

"Tony they were working " - Sally

The only work they were doing was signing for expenses!
You may be happy that your money is being spent in this way but I would suggest you are in the minority.

[John Broughton]

Sally

I've come to the conclusion that many of your posts are either designed to be provocative or tongue in cheek.

Of course the film crew have a right to expose these people. If one chooses to be employed in public service then one must be fully accountable.

[Sally Roberts]

"I've come to the conclusion that many of your posts are either designed to be provocative or tongue in cheek."

Well, if that is true it certainly worked....It does make me laugh sometimes to see all the puppets dancing!

[Deborah]

"Well, if that is true"
I wish I could believe it.

"It does make me laugh sometimes to see all the puppets dancing!"

Strange sense of humour.....

[cosmic]

Well now we know that, the wisest course will be to dismiss whatever you have to say as mere attention seeking.

[Sally Roberts]

Whereas of course anything cosmic writes is simply because he (or she) likes the feel of fingers tapping on the keyboard...?

[TrevorH]

Isn't this an old story?

Covered on someone else's blog?

In any event it was a quite justified exercise and exposes the EU expenses scam.

[Richard North]

Nice to see you catching up with the leaders. On the ball as always!

[ronaldo]

People are right that the whole 'sign in, sod off' is not new, and nor is exposing it - but I appreciate this being highlighted. In recent weeks you could have been forgiven for thinking, based on the blogoshpere that Tory MEPs were the prime culprits - but actually our lot (with one or two notable exceptions) actually I think do a pretty decent job and are stand up pretty well to scrutiny. Personally I think they've been leaked against by officials in the European Parliament to discredit Euroscepticism - which is telling in itself (UKIP are obviously regarded as a total joke and irrelevance) - if we could get a look at what the so-called socialists' and federalists are up to on expenses etc I bet it would make our lot look like Mother Theresa...and I think this link backs that up...

[ukipwebmaster]

Yes, do catch up :)
http://www.ukip.tv/?page_id=211

[Richard North]

ronaldo "... if we could get a look at what the so-called socialists' and federalists are up to on expenses etc ...."

Yup! We do that as well.

Next question?