Since June 2019, over half of all MPs have had their IPSA expenses cards suspended, 344 in total, according to a Freedom of Information request. IPSA provides MPs procurement cards, which can be used for any business costs allowed under the expenses scheme. If an MP has an outstanding balance, not paid within 30 days, this is treated as a debt to IPSA and the card is suspended. Serious or repeated breaches – including the misuse of the card for personal or non-parliamentary spending and repeated breaches of card conditions – can also lead to suspensions. IPSA admit they can’t find records of any suspensions between September 2018 and May 2019, they also confirm they did not suspend cards during the pandemic – to allow MPs to return home quickly. They are refusing to reveal the identity of any offending MPs…

The cards are basically suspended when they are abused or when the balances are unpaid. If an MP’s card is suspended it is either for misusing public funds or being incompetent with public money. Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves had her card suspended in 2015…

IPSA cites risks of endangering “the physical or mental health of any individual” as the justification for withholding this information – pointing to the case of Sir David Amess’ death. The last time Guido checked, MPs expense claims weren’t top of the concerns of Islamist terrorists…

The decision not to name MPs is made more confusing when taken in the context of previous publications – between 2015 and 2018 they were all too happy to share the information. IPSA does reveal the frequency of anonymous MPs’ card suspensions. The mysterious “MP184” had their card suspended 13 times since November 2019…