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Page last updated at 07:28 GMT, Thursday, 14 May 2009 08:28 UK

Taxpayers 'want reform not prosecutions'

It has been revealed that a former minister claimed £16,000 on expenses for a mortgage that had already been paid off.

Crime and fraud lawyer Steven Barker, of Barker Gillette, discusses what would happen if this mistake took place in the private sector. He says that taxpayers' money should not be spent on what would be a political show trial.

Political editor Nick Robinson reports on more than 20 MPs who have said they will pay back claims totalling nearly £130,000. He says that politicians are pleading for their political lives in their local constituencies.

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