Your journalism is second to none, but would you please note that the investigation into Derek Conway is under way, not underway. You can be understood, underendowed and undermined, but you are under pressure, under eighteen and under a cloud. People, including many foreigners, reading The Times should be able to rely on what is printed as being correct.

M J McLoughlin, Usk,

It is becoming more apparent that politicians are believing themselves to be above the law. This person has no excuses for knowingly defrauding the state. Just how many more are doing the same? Constituancy offices should be responsible for appointing clerical staff
If Mr Conway is allowed to walk away from his post voluntarily will he take with him an MP's pension and continue to enjoy the 'perks of office' he seems to have enjoyed. Current events continue to feed my belief that the more we make politics a professional career with higher earnings, the greedier. more detached and protective of their position our politicians become.
What is surprising is the contempt that other politicians (who have been bleating on about donations to fund campaigns) have of the general population in trying to defend and lessen the seriousness of the crime. As has been pointed out, in the real world this conduct would be an act of gross mis-conduct which would lead to dismissal and prosecution.

Frank Fitzpatrick, Nottingham,

I'm afraid I don't understand why we, in Sidcup, have to continue to be represented by a man who is out of his party and possibly to be banned from parliament for a few days. It doesn't seem that he can vote on my behalf any more, or am I not understanding the system? Can we choose someone else please?

Jane, Sidcup,

We are always asking ourselves why we have a law and order decline in the UK.It has always been my belief that the fact those elected to make our laws and,worse,those paid by us to enforce them do not seem to believe they are subject to the same laws as the majority of us,is a major factor.For that reason I have always believed (proven) offenders who are supposed to be serving the public should suffer more swingeing penalties from the courts,but they never do...indeed they seem to get away with excuses that would that would not wash from those of us who pay them.It's time an example were set

barry homer, clevedon, uk

Of course, he SHOULD pay back ALL the money and be expelled from office immediately...! He SHOULD be prosecuted for fraud and suffer the legal consequences, like most ordinary people would...!! And, instead of voting on their own pay rises, ALL his fellow MPs SHOULD have their pay-scales put under genuinely independent review and their expenses made subject to regular public scrutiny...!!!

But that won't happen because we don't live in a genuine democracy. We live in a free-for-all, where those in power are permitted to wield that power to their own, unquestioned, advantage. I reckon Charles Dickens would feel right at home in England today.

John Jay, Walton on Thames, UK

Disgraceful. He should resign forthwith.

Mark, Derby,

conway should resign NOW,why sould he continue to get payed over £1,000 perweek untill the nex election

Elwyn Bryant, Bexley, Kent

I would genuinely be interested to see exactly where tax money goes.

I think he should be forced to pay all monies owed in full and sacked.

Vic, Peterborough,

Benefit fraud is a CRIME!! No if's no buts!!

Oh sorry BUT he is an MP!!!

Very angry, london,

Conway should go. And having gone should never be allowed back into any public office or employment.

The money should be returned.

Its interesting that the various Labour politicians who mhave accepted contributions to party funds or personal funds have got off so lightly. Both in terms of punishment and interms of still keeping their jobs. The Press has had a good go at the Conservatives again...what about a similar go at Labour.

Alan Beech, Reading, UK

If Conway is allowed stay until the next elections, then "we" as his employee need to do something drastic about the situation NOW and not just moan amongst ourselves as is the norm. I amongst millions of self employed people have been systematically hauled before Inland Revenue and our accounts gone through with a tooth comb. My bank accidentally transferred £10.00 out of my account to "somewhere" and Inland Revenue pounced on me asking if I had an "account" out of the Country. I had to tell them to look further down the statement and they would see the Bank had put the £10.00 back in!! I also had to advise them how much I spent on my girlfriend, holidays, etc etc as I was only on a very small wage - as the saying goes, one rule for one.........Stinks!!!

Randall South Derbyshire UK

G Randall, South Derbyshire, united kingdom

It's the same old pollitics isn't it, sorting out your friends and family with jobs, regardless of there credenshalls.

This man and his son should be in jail for fraud, because he has abused his position of power, he should be delt with more severly! As the Judges like to do in every other case "make and example of him"... do it to a PM to set the standards that if you swindle money in anyway (in politics), you'll be locked up!

There are the people who are meant to be leading by example.

Shame on him but the real sad fact is, he's just the one who's been caught doing it, 85% of them are at it.

Look at there expences for the year.

It makes me so Mad that them lot are exempt from smoking at work!!!!!!!!!!!! No wonder they were so happy to pass the law knowing full well it wasn't affecting them!!!

Andy T , england,

Deidra Baker of Dundee - Mr Conway is not by any means a Tory "blue blood". He is by birth and upbringing rather "lower class" if you must put it that way, and I'm beginning to think that may be part of the problem. If he'd been a Labour MP I would have been angry but not surprised. As he was a Tory MP I'm just angry.

It's now time to encourage and welcome enlightened gentry and other wealthy worthies back into public service: they would work hard out of a sense of duty rather than for the readies they can leach from the system.

Gordon Alexander, Frome, UK

You know, I've just rumbled something.

I must be one of the few people in this country that actually works for a living and pays taxes.

I must be barking mad!!

Bry Barnes, Somerset, Uk

If I misappropriated my employers money in a similar way I would be dismissed for gross misconduct, and possibly the police would be involved. And, I’m sure this would apply to most employees.

The contempt with which our politicians is treating us beggars belief.

vaughan, london, uk

He should be sacked and ordered to resign as an MP by David Cameron with immediate effect. This man belongs in prison.

roger kingston, york,

Surely, any salary paid to researchers by an MP should be from his own pocket, after all, what benefit is it to the general public to have these people employed? If an MP needs assistance of any kind to do the job he or she is paid for, they should pay for it out of their own pocket!

Brian North, Ilkeston, Derbyshire

Step down at the next election-that means he'll be milking us taxpayers good and proper for another two years. In any other job he wouldn't last another two minutes after such a scam. As Cromwell said to the Rump Parliament "Depart I say and let us have done with you, in the name of G-d go!"

Simon, manchester,

Totally forgot - Theft and missapproriation of funds is different for MPs than it is for Joe Public.

Disgusted, London,

Talk about benefit fraud! I guess the 'upper' class can teach the 'lower' class a thing or two.

Deidra Baker, Dundee, Scotland

He has stolen public money. He shouldnt stand down at the next elections - he should be thrown out now, straight into jail. Thats what happens to thieves who dont work in Westminster.

bob, derby,

If the investigation confirms the allegations he should face a court charged with theft. Anything less is a further deciept for the tax payers.

barryboy, Bognor Regis, UK

This case once again proves that politicians of all political parties are corrupt.

colin millin, teignmouth, devon

This man should be investigated by the police

Angela Bell , Uttoxeter , Staffordshire

It seems to me that the Police spend more time these days investigating their own political leaders than they do dealing with the crime on our streets.......yet the Police are denied a fair wage for their efforts. I am going to apply for a job with Mr Conway!!!!

Nick Bate, Camberley, Surrey

Unfortunately this is another re-enforcement of what parliment is about. It's not about democracy, it's not about looking after the people in this country, it's about putting money into MP and MEP's pockets. Lets not forget that this public funded gravy train is also being enjoyed in the European parliment as well. This is clearly a case of fraud, but Conway will be protected and walk away with money in the bank. A full investigation of ALL MP's expenses should be inititated by Scotland Yard, ALL misappropriated funds should be re-imbursed to the public purse and directed to the pay of Emergency Service personnel, and MP's over inflated pay should be frozen until their "honesty" and "Integrety" has been confirmed.
After all Who Watches the Watchmen - It's long over-due an indepenedant body is required to regulate and police government.

Steve K, Sevenoald, England

My initial view is that an empire as old and experienced as the United Kingdom has been afforded more than adequate time to discover the inherent risks associated with political nepotism... it is an odd subject to even have come up at all. Of course it's wrong... how in the world could anyone determine otherwise?

Dayfydd Griffing, Bella Vista, AR USA

He should definately pay the money back--we should now investigate other M.P.s who have employed their family members and see what has happened there? Didn`t the previous P.M employ his son/sons? We should also investigate how much the tax payer spends when government officials travel abroad with wives and hairdressers etc!! I don`t pay my taxes for this---I want to see hospitals funded properly.

Pat, Surrey,

Stand down be damned - he should go to jail!

Graham, Pattaya, Thailand

He should pay it ALL back, month after month. (Just like I had to pay back the student loans I had to take out).

Ben, Morges, Switzerland

Interesting to Hear Sir Christopher Kelly suggesting better 'monitoring' sounds like a nice, new, highly paid civil service job to be created eh? perhaps even a whole new sub committee? Straight out of 'yes minister' Sorry chum, you've beem rumbled. It's time to ban employment of family members, and everybody knows it. so get on with it before someone wakes up to the fact that we already have a standards monitor and it's, er, you.

tony barton, brighton,

Why is it that in virtually every other area of working life support staff, whether secretaries, researchers etc, are employed by an organisation not individuals. Parliament needs to be dragged into the modern world. MPs should be paid a standard salary and other work needs should be provided in the way the rest of us experience. As for this particular case, a full police investigation is essential. And, I hope that all other MPs are giving careful thought to their expenses claims.

Graham, Oxford, UK

I think that they should now look into his whole career and see if he has stolen money from anywhere else.

Simon McDonnell, Welwyn Village, Herts

Democracy doesn't work. Why and how can I trust an establishment and system that basically gives its own 'staff discount' when it comes to indescretions and dishonesty. Truth beknown, their actions would be viewed as criminal in any other walk of life and they would serve a custodial sentence. I would like to ask any other readers if the would employ majority rule in a mental institution? The idiots have truly taken over and what is worse, we condone the attempts at leading us.

Noel Challenor, Shawbury,

one rule for the haves, and another set of rules for the have nots (agreed by the haves with little or no scrutiny or oversight) - hey presto, we are on a rickety road to communist-style corruption!! Thank you GorTon Brair, your legacy will be one where many brits are happy to flee to sunnier shores in order to escape your draconian and ultra-liberalistic policies (no wonder the liberals are finding it hard to get a foothold!!)

ken, northampton, UK

Make him pay back the publics money is it ?
Who do I give my bank account details to ?
Oh thats right, it go`s back in to the pot for someone else to have a go at diddling us doesn`t it ?

Anton, Barry, Wales

This is in a totally different & much more concerning category than Labour's apparent lapses in accepting, logging and registering donations of privately owned money, The Conway case involves the alleged theft of public money.
There is no doubt that someone falsely claiming state benefits on this sort of scale would be prosecuted & probably face jail time.
The locai Lib Dems were quite ringht to refer the matter to the Police.
We must await the outcome of their investigation with interest.

John Crawley, Abergavenny, U.K.

Just as a matter of interest, is there anyone out there who supports Derek Conway

Frank Greaney, Liverpool,

We in Canada recently experienced a political party whose
"culture of entitlement" attitude caused them to be thrown out of office. I fear that this particular case may be just the tip of the iceberg with elected representatives going to the public trough on a regular bais to satisfy their own greed.

MDM, Qualicum Beach, B.C.

Presumably if he is found guilty of fraud he will go sooner than that

K Wells, Bognor Regis, England

It really does beggar belief that in this day and age of accountability that these incompetent clowns are allowed to commit fraud in the name of parliamentary expenses and walk away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist and the lose of their job. If this was an ordinary citizen then there would be a police investigation, prosecution and then jail.

How the hell can this system be allow to go on with out full public scrutiny or independent oversight.... No wonder MPs kicked up such a stink when their expenses where made available under the freedom of information act. All of a sudden they realised that the general public would be able to see just how of the tax payers money was being squandered on over inflated and outright fraudulent expense claim.

With the average house hold is struggling with the ever increasing cost of living, fuel prices, council taxes, and half a dozen other stealth taxes we now find that we are having our noses well and truly rubbed in it also.

Em's, Poole , Dorset

The rights and wrongs of this apart, the exposure of the story shows how good media work and coverage is worth its weight in gold!

Who would stifle the press and free speech?

Alistairs Solicitors, Bristol, UK

Suspension for a mere 10 days and repayment of only £13,161 of the £200,000 "stolen" - MP's certainly know how to punish corrupt members of their club.

Graham Whitehead, Cobham, UK

I believed in my country, I believed in the democatic principal of the Government being made up of honourable decent people, how wrong I was...........
It is with great sadness that our service personel are being killed and maimed at the behest of messrs Conway and co. when nothing more than common thieves,

Richierich, worcestershire, UK

Corruption should be corruption no matter who is involved. Nepotism, it would have been, if he had actually employed his sons. Since he did not in fact employ anyone, but pretended he did in order to obtain public funds, it is corruption, pure and simple!

Nwenu, London, UK

Fiddling expenses is one of the few things you can do that will get you into very hot water. That is, for everyone except MP's it seems.

Roger Pearse, Ipswich,

I would have loved to have a dad as a tory MP when I was at university - getting paif £40k+ for binge drinking and doing no work - you can't beat that!

Fraud is a crime, get him punished fast Mr Cameron, or are you going to re-enforce the Tory stereotype, that you and yours look after your own, and abuse the system in the pursuit of personal wealth at the expense of joe public?

He's an absolute disgrace and should go to prison.

James, Preaton, UK

Why go at the next election. He should be sacked now as any of us 'mere mortals' would be.

I am a mature student with no family connections and would gladly 'work' (sic) for him for 20k. There we go, an instant saving of £1773. What a wonderful way to accrue beer tokens.

Has nobody picked up that he has only been told to repay £13k of our money, where is the other £8k. that we know of.

There must be a few other MP's sweating in the wings as this is going to turn into a well overdue purge.

Pete, Ipswich,

So Derek Conway is doing the "honourable thing" by stepping down. Well according to his colleagues he is. Maybe I have missed the point here, I thought he did the dis-honourable thing by commiting fraud. Time and time again we hear of politicians greaking the rules and doing as they like. No wonder the electorate have lost faith in these people. As far as him not wanting to be a distraction perhaps he should have thought about that before getting caught with his hand in the honeypot.

Ray, Clacton,

MP's will vote tomorrow on whether Conway should repay £13.000 from the total of hundreds of thousands that he paid into his own family funds?
In as much as it was taxpayers money that he paid his sons with he should damn well repay all of it. Try telling Inland Revenue that you will pay a fraction of the tax that you have dodged over the last few years and see what happens.
And he says that he will stand down at the next election. Do I take it then that he will continue to receive his salary until then before retiring on a fat pension?
If he were any other public servant he would be suspended (albeit I know on full pay) and then if he were convicted (which we all know he won't be) of a criminal act he would be sacked and lose his pension.

Chris Parsons OBE, Kouklia, Cyprus

He should be made to leave immediately -- these people live in a different world to the rest of us.

Paul Downes, Milton Keynes, Bucks

I'd positively love to be a member of the jury when this little gang of thieves are up before the beak.

Sequestration of his (presumably) nice house would be a good start.

Mike Donald, Aberdeen, UK

He should apply for the Chiltern Hundreds and there should be a by-election.

Frank Leader, b,

Resign now and let us have a by-election.

I want a new MP.

Disgusted, Sidcup,

Mr Cameron is dithering again, again a corrupt Tory MP does not resign after mis appropriation of Public Funds and his 'Boss' does not demand his resignation.
Is Cameron frightened of a By-Election with his lead in the Polls or is he frightened that his undeclared donations will again surface shortly and he will have to resign.

We sit with bated breath, although I am not holding my breath

Bill, Sheffield,

Don't you mean DISHONOURABLE Member of Old Bexley and Sidcup!

Evidence has proved that so called 'Researchers' fail to raise the calibre and standard of MP's. They should all be made redundant with immediate effect.

H Wright, Derbyshire,

I must congratulate our good media-times, for treating all politicos in the same way, i almost thought it was just the party
in government was attacked, but it's not !

Although it's not a happy day for conway, but all elected members should have some decency, i hope there's some
lesson to other members: Cllr Ken Tiwari(Oxford UK)

Cllr Ken Tiwari (Independent), Oxford, United Kingdom

So any public employee who has misused company funds can now have a couple of years notice period then? Or is there special treatment for MPs? Surely not!

Chris Jay, Whitchurch,

Misappropriate £200,000 and resign.Not a bad deal.Perhaps when the police examine the complaint they should also consider the behaviour of the two sons;surely they were guilty of a crime as well as their leech of a father.

peter robinson, plouhinec, france

I suppose this cheating thief has at least had the decency to leave the money train. Well, no, not yet I suppose. How long until the next election? How much will he pocket between now and then? What is absolutely certain is that Conway is not alone in defrauding the public purse. I assume that someone is currently composing a Freedom of Information question about the numbers of MPs who 'employ' family members, and the average amounts paid out. Anyone still out there who believes our political 'masters' are in it for the public good?
If I did this and got caught I would expect a prison sentence. I see no reason why politicians should be different.

Bryan Bailie, Newtownards, County Down

We the tax payers are required to provide detailed breakdowns of what we EARN to make sure we are paying our share to the government; I don't see why MPs feel it unnecessary to provide a detailed breakdown of how they SPEND the monies we provide. The sense of superiority has created this ruling class who are comfortable saying that they, serving on our behalf, should be held to a lesser standard than we, their payers.

Carson, Leatherhead,

The rules should be changed family members should not be allowed to be employed.
Times have changed since these rules came into force and MPs take full advantage of manipulating the rules to extract as much money from the public purse as possible. Time to call a halt to the gravy train once and for all. This kind of behavior damages us all and will have far reaching consequences if the rules are not changed.
How can we morally justify , jailing a single parent for minor benefit fraud and dress this fraud up in a different language?

Ron, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK