BRITAIN:The three main parties at Westminster, Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, are set to urge MPs to say whether they employ family members.
The move comes as part of a commitment to greater transparency over the use of parliamentary allowances. Minority parties at Westminster are likely to follow suit, and the move could have a knock-on effect on the devolved institutions in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
Following a meeting with government chief whip Geoff Hoon, it emerged yesterday that prime minister Gordon Brown will tell Labour MPs to make the declaration as part of an effort to repair public confidence in the aftermath of the Derek Conway affair.
Mr Conway lost the Conservative whip and announced his intention to stand down at the next election ahead of his suspension from the Commons on Thursday, after being censured for overpaying his son Freddie for working as a research assistant while a full-time university student.
News of Mr Brown's intentions came after Conservative leader David Cameron disclosed that "just over" 70 of his MPs - out of a total of 193 - have family members on the parliamentary payroll. Secretary of state for justice Jack Straw said on Thursday that the practice was legitimate, in accordance with the rules, and extended across party lines. However, Mr Cameron said he believed there was "a need for . . . openness when it comes to MPs' pay and staff and expenses and allowances".
Commons rules require disclosure of amounts claimed in staff costs, and party leaders cannot force colleagues to declare the identity of those they employ.
However, Mr Cameron said that "as a first step" he would be asking his front-bench colleagues from April this year to register such appointments in the members' register of interests.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg told the BBC he too would be urging his MPs to say if they employed relatives as staff, and suggested this should be limited to one family member in future.
Scotland Yard said it was still considering a request from the Liberal Democrat candidate for Mr Conway's Old Bexley and Sidcup seat to open a fraud inquiry.