MP expenses leak over 'poor army equipment'

The man who leaked details about MPs' expenses has said he was motivated by anger at the lack of adequate equipment for British troops.

The Daily Telegraph sensationally revealed the expenses claims of hundreds of MPs earlier this year, leading to the resignation of numerous members of parliament and public outrage at the entire Westminster system.

The whistleblower who handed the details over to the newspaper has now revealed he leaked the material because he had become infuriated about the poor equipment troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan were being forced to work with.

The civilian employee, who has remained unnamed, was part of the staff responsible for processing the expenses claims.

He said he became outraged at having to file claims for lavish and seemingly excessive items such as plasma TVs and duck islands.

The mole is quoted in the Daily Telegraph as saying: 'It's not easy to watch footage on the news of a coffin draped in a Union Jack and then come in to work the next day and see on your computer screen what MPs are taking for themselves.

'They're out in Afghanistan for Queen and country earning £16,000 or £17,000-a-year, knowing they're going to take losses, while MPs are sitting in parliament on £65,000, with massive expenses, and meanwhile you've got bodies coming home.'

The MPs' expenses row claimed a number of high-profile victims, most notably the House of Commons Speaker Michael Martin, and led to widespread public anger at Parliament.

The Labour party was most visibly damaged by the revelations, with the voters choosing to punish the party at the local and European elections during the summer where the party suffered embarrassing poor results.