Expenses rules state that MPs can only travel in first in the unlikely event that it is cheaper than a standard fare. That hasn’t stopped three legroom-loving MPs from bending the rules, however. Energy minister John Hayes made the journey from his Lincolnshire constituency to Westminster in first 28 out of the last 30 times, costing the taxpayer on average over £60 a pop. Standard tickets are usually as cheap as £19 if they are booked in advance or £37.50 if you turn up on the day.  He’s not alone…

Former Labour Home Secretary Alan Johnson has a 100% record, travelling from Hull in first class 19 times out of 19. He billed us almost £100-a-journey on average, three times what you can pay with a week’s notice. And as for Leeds MP Fabian Hamilton? 29 of his 30 train journeys were in first at £72 a go, as much as double the standard fare.

A well-placed parliamentary source explained to Guido how greedy MPs cheat the system by seeking out the few journeys where buying a first class ticket technically doesn’t break the rules. It’s Great Train Snobbery, pure and simple…

Sacked Energy Minister Charles Hendry has not wasted any time cashing in on his expertise; he has just been announced as the chairman of the wind energy giants Forewind. The consortium comprising of four international companies -Scottish and Southern, RWE, Statoil and Statkraf – was awarded the contract in 2010 to build the huge “Dogger Bank” windfarm 125 kilometres off the Yorkshire coast.

Though Hendry has waited for the appropriate cooling off period of three months since leaving government, a look through his declared meetings while a minister leaves an unfortunate taste in the mouth: between June 2010 and October 2011 Hendry hobnobbed six times with the representatives of the companies that make up Forewind, and now he is their boss. It seems the revolving doors spin far more than the windmills…

They tried to cover up the rent-swapping scandal, their boss even spends his time trying to convince the public that piggy MPs deserve our trust. Now Guido has learned that IPSA, the parliamentary standards authority set up to hold fiddling expenses cheats to account, tips off MPs facing expenses exposés. Two weeks before they release Freedom of Information responses containing details of MPs’ expenses, conveniently IPSA tip-off the Member in question to warn them of what is to come.

One parliamentary source told Guido that their boss was well aware of the information about to be disclosed to this blog some fourteen days before it was eventually released. This gives expenses cheats two whole weeks to cover their tracks and prepare for the bad headlines. Crucially it gives them enough time to change what they are claiming and putting them on the front foot in fire-fighting allegations.  IPSA are supposed to be independent, yet here are in cahoots with the troughers…

Yesterday it was Chris Huhne who was staring down the barrel, but for six Tory toffs there has been a very different target in the crosshairs. Step forward Sir Gerald Howarth, Graham Brady, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Sir Edward Garnier, Simon Reevell and Bill Wiggin. The six have all declared they were treated to a weekend of blasting birds out of the sky at 2,500 acre Catton Hall estate just before Christmas that cost over £5,000 courtesy of the blood sports lobby.

Catton Hall, a country estate that has been in the same hands since the fifteenth century, offers guests a 350 bird bag and use of its luxury dining room. How generous of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation to foot the bill. These six clearly didn’t get the Tory detoxification memo…

In Guido’s Daily Star Sunday column we revealed how Sadiq Khan had promoted the British Kebab Awards in Parliament after trousering a £5,000 donation from the Tayabb Kebab House in his constituency. Today emails have gone out inviting Labour supporters to a February fundraiser hosted by Sadiq Khan at – you guessed it – the Tayabb Kebab House. You can join the queue for your dodgy donor kebab for just £35. Bargain…

Well how is this for devotion to the cause of efficiency? In order to help his department achieve 20% budget cuts, London Fire Brigade comms chief Richard Stokoe has given himself the sack. Stokoe says that when he was looking at how to make savings he found that his own job was the one that should face the chop:

“When I looked at it, any other staff leaving would have had a direct impact. I set the strategy, which is now in place, so strategists are not needed.”

Though the PR Week spin fails to neglect that this isn’t the first time Stokoe’s original management style has raised eyebrows. Back in January 2010, when he was at the LGA, 13 PR staff were made redundant. Stokoe simply changed his job title from Head of News to Head of Media to delay his departure. Guido will be watching to make sure he does not pull a similar wheeze this time…

UPDATE: Stokoe gets in touch to say that he did not delay his departure from the LGA, but merely had a three month notice period and wanted to take a small break. He describes the move as “jiggery pokery”. Guido is happy to clarify.

Sir Doug Ellis is a name more familiar with the footballing world than the Westminster bubble, yet the former chairman of Aston Villa football club has just opened his cheque book to donate £10,000 to Andrew Mitchell.

Word of an interesting tale from Ellis’ Villa tenure reaches Guido – back in the day the authoritarian chairman was engaged in fairly brutal boardroom battles with his arch-nemesis Bill Dugdale. And just who is Sir William “Bill” Dugdale?

None other than David Cameron’s uncle…

Spare a thought for poor old Yvette Cooper. As Guido reported in his Daily Star Sunday column, the Shadow Home Secretary was left stranded in the snow by her husband this weekend:

“YVETTE Cooper, the MP and wife of Ed Balls, tweeted early yesterday about the “beautiful, sun rising over a snowy Castleford” and said she would not be deterred by several inches of snow from setting out for Pontefract in her West Yorks constituency to go knocking on doors with “walking boots, ski gloves and a bacon sandwich”. A few minutes later she tweeted a pic of a snow-covered car and commented: “Hmm. Seems car has other ideas. V embarrassing. Am going to have to get @EdBallsMP to help push.” At least the sun was shining and if anyone is experienced at pushing someone out, it is Ed Balls. Just ask Tony Blair.”

She never made the journey…

Meanwhile Guido has uncovered some intriguing details over Cooper’s expenses claims. At the end of 2011 Yvette charged the taxpayer over £600 for the “specialist internet support” of an undisclosed computer ‘expert’. Guido has learned that the money was paid to one Ellie Gellard, the very same famous-for-twitter Ellie Gellard who worked as Balls’ speech-writer and bag carrier.

The claim was made in the very month that Balls unsuccessfully tried to convince his Shadow Cabinet colleagues to take Gellard on as a Political Adviser. Labour have always seen taxpayers’ cash as a way to help out their friends…

Still no answers from Sadiq Khan over his missing money. Now Tory MP Andrew Stephenson has written to Sir John Lyon asking him to investigate. This should move things along nicely:

It is now in the hands of the authorities…

UPDATE: Just a small FYI for the Tories – Sir John Lyon is no longer the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, it is now Kathryn Hudson. Oh dear…

Back in 2009 the publisher of lefty snooze-fest vanity project Prospect had high hopes for his monthly magazine. David Hanger boasted of a new £500,000 investment from venture capitalists and hedge fund managers that he pledged would double Prospect’s circulation, saying he “hoped that by the end of the three years, the magazine’s circulation would almost double from its current total of about 27,000 to more than 50,000″. Now those three years are well and truly up, Guido has decided to see if the investment came good.

Prospect’s ABC figures for March 2009 put their net total circulation at 27,623. The magazine’s all-important goal of 50,000 has turned out to be a distant pipe dream. The latest available figures put its circulation at just 32,115 three years on, a rise of just 16%. The real cause for concern is the the UK paid-for number. In 2009 they sold 18,122 copies every six months, but last year that number fell to just 16,555. Not even the box office hire James Macintyre could turn things around as their Political Editor. And as for David Hanger? He has seemingly been demoted from publisher to “publishing consultant”. Half-a-million pounds down the drain and nothing to show for it. Those venture capitalists and hedge fund managers really should have known better…