AT A time when the recession is biting, news that our MPs have been claiming expenses for second homes will be hard for some readers to swallow.
Parliamentarians are allowed to receive cash to help them maintain a second home within a convenient distance of Westminster,which makes sense for members whose constituencies lie miles from London.
But for our north-west London members to take thousands in taxpayers'cash while living within commuting distance of the capital is a waste of money.
Besides the morality of whether MPs should receive expenses just because they can, there is a darker issue with Tony McNulty, Harrow East's Labour MP.
He has claimed expenses for his property in Harrow,which he should only have done if he actually lived there with his parents, and there is confusion over this.
The parliamentary watchdog will discover whether this was a legitimate use of public cash.
Young Ishan gets our vote
THE achievements of Ishan Baig are certainly impressive.
The seven-year-old gained a GCSE in computing and his gogetting, determination and brains are not in doubt.
Most grown-ups are awed by the technical abilities of the generation growing up with the internet. This throws up dangers as well as opportunities - it is famously difficult to screen the internet's more disturbing content before it reaches young eyes.
But Ishan is a cause for optimism. Rather than retreat into a bubble of online solipsism, he has used computers to better learn about and engage with the world.
The proof? He is making plans to stand for Prime Minister.
