I do hope Mr cameron will be calling for a police investigation. Surely stealing the taxpayers money is a very serious offence.

daid, exeter, UK

Derek Conway and his son, without further delay or prevarication, should be fully investigated by the police.
Based on the current ,publically available information,he/they almost certainly should be prosecuted for financial fraud & misbehaviour in public office. If this was "an administrative oversight" , I'm a banana.

Rob Webb, Macclesfield, UK

Old Bexley and Sidcup now looking for a new MP at the next election? I think they will be looking - of course the public could exact retribution at the ballot box!!

Frank Keegan, Alderley Edge,

In addition to a Register for Researchers there ought to be another register showing all others on MPs payroll i.e. wives, children, girlfriends etc. It is very common for partners to be on the payroll and have full pension, sickness benefits etc. In the interest of accountability this should be public knowledge. The name and salary should available. Perhaps this already is?

moc, london, uk

He should resign or be sacked. If David Cameron does not act then I do not belive that the core of the Conservative MP's have changed. This is very damaging.

No ifs no buts just GO

Alan, Southampton,

This MP must resign immediately! Why must we listen to him defend any aspect of this travesty?

Floyd Smith, London,

People who volunteer for public life have to be seen to be above board. To have been found guilty of fraud, no playing with words can lessen the crime, means he should face the penalty and recive a custodial sentence. If he had any moral fibre he should resign. Mr cameron should make an example of him and have him removed from the party asap. Otherwise he too becomes implicit in accepting this criminal behaviour of MPs.

R. Swim, Torquay, UK

So whats new aren't most of them guilty of fiddling allowances one way or another. Until someone Honest & Upright is appointed to regulate these Politicians this sort of thing will keep happening. It starts at the very top like the EU, since when have they been regulated there is more fraud going on,no one will sign off the accounts and the only person that spoke out about this was sacked by Neil Kinnock ,it just happens to be one long gravy train and every tax payer is paying dearly. We have to rely on you the papers to expose these people so thankyou and keep up the good work.

June Sumner, Retford, England

If a person on benefits cheated the public purse of a tenth of the money the Thatcherite Conway did, the same MP would be the first to call for a prosecution. No ifs, no buts- as the current government slogan says. It is a disgraceful and breathtaking piece of abuse.

Keith, Gateshead, UK

That will show them. Not !

Who do the gluttons at the Westminster trough think they are kidding ? Joe Public is treated more severely for putting his bin out on the "wrong day".

jasper, chelmsford,

This is fraud - pure and simple. This man should not be allowed to continue as an MP and should be prosecuted. If the various Labour members are investigated by the Police, so should he. Scandalous. And I vote Tory.

Peter Wright, West Kilbride, Ayrshire

I can only assume that the reason he doesn't have to repay most of the money he has defrauded from the tax payers is that too many MPs feel there but for the Grace of God go I.

MPs have just voted to increase their Staffing allowance by £10,000 per annum - rather more than the 1.9% increase to Nurses and Police!

Dave Burns, London, Kent

We in Britain seem to think it is our god given right to interfere in other country's politics at every opportunity imposing democracy the world over, when we can't even eliminate basic corruption at such a low level.

Hassan Azam, Banbury, Oxfordshire, England

This man has been defrauding the taxpayer and should be sacked!

Peter Morris, High Wycombe, Bucks

The arrogance and sense, by MPs,that they are apart and different from the rest of us is exemplified by the fact that Conway apologises to the House and not to us, the taxpayers. It was OUR money he diverted, allegedly to no benefit other than his son!

Howard, St Ives, UK

If you or I stole this money we would be doing a little more than just apologising. I rule for the pigs...........................

Colin Hughes, Chester,

The man should be arrested for theft. Any other employee who misappropiated funds in this way from his employer would find himself without a job and being friendly with the local constabulary.

Steve Williams, Swindon, Wilts

He should think himself lucky he only got a 10 day suspension and have to pay back some of the money. In my company like many others, i would be out of a job and subject to a visit from the police.

phil, kent, uk

Is Dave dithering? Surely he needs to step into this situation and tell his backbencher that its time for him to go. For a party that wants to be elected to get better value from spending taxpayers money this is a funny way of demonstrating how they would cut down on waste. It seems that a lot of Tory M.P's spend their days working in the City while employing secretaries to do their constituency work. If they want to be part-timers then they should pay for their Assistants out of their full-time salaries rather than out of an expenses budget.

bill edmunds , Basingstoke, UK

It is surely QUITE unacceptable that M.Ps expenses are not made public and published for all to see .
This piece of knavery is QUITE obviously just the tip of a large iceberg .
The present system of accountability is a disgrace and should be changed as a matter of urgency.Shame on the so-called Mother of Parliaments which also enables these same M.Ps to vote themselves increased salaries.
We seem to be not much better that politicians in Africa!
Criminal charges should follow for Conway.

michael moorhouise, Bazauges, france

misjudgments? Shortcomings? Euphemisms if ever i heard them.
Why can their not be an entirely independent board of laymen presiding over MP's salaries/perks etc? They are after all public servants with the added bonus of holidays galore come summertime. They make profess to working hard, but there are a great deal many people that do so. I trust they will be planning a staged salary rise for themselves in line with policemen and women who serve to protect the public? Im sure the inflationary pressure brought on by MP wages in London is far too great to risk on the ever prudent PM.

tim, london,

If an MP can't be relied upon to apply sound judgement and morality in his dealings in such matters, he is unworthy of the postion and should be de-selected at the earliest opportunity. However, it also shows that the rules on such matters are equally lax - or maybe were drawn up when one COULD rely upon the standards of behaviour exhibited by MP's.

mx8_man, Cheshire,

He employs his wife as a secretary too...

Will Duffay, London,

MPs chould not receive allowances like this themselves, as they just consider it their own money. There are way too many misuses of funds.

Allowances should go to the party in the MP's constituency, where an office can be set up and run in a more accountable fashion.

Austin, London,

I am quite surprised that everything from fundraising to employing family can be explained by a mere administrative oversight. Politicians do not seem to draw parallels between managing their affairs in a business like manner and representing the public on important issues. Are they so foolish to think that we the public may not draw some parallels of their own.

John, Egremont,

I'm amazed the police were not called in to investigate. How could his son have done anything for him while in full time study?
He cannot be considered for reselection at the next election.

D Case, Newquay,

Wouldn't it be simpler if the rules didn't allow the employment of family members?

Sue Burnett, Pontypridd, Wales

Another thief at work.Behave in this way in any other walk of life and one would be fired and facing police charges.As an MP expect a 10 day suspension.

p robinson, audierne, france