Two Sussex MPs were today condemned for trying to end the public's right to view their expenses and allowances.

Des Turner, Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown, and Laura Moffatt, Labour MP for Crawley, were among 96 MPs to vote to exempt Parliament from freedom of information law.

Their support helped Tory MP David Maclean's Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill clear its final Commons hurdle by a majority of 71 votes.

The Bill, if backed by the House of Lords, would exclude both the Commons and the Lords, as well as MPs' correspondence, from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

Supporters said it was needed to protect the confidentiality of MPs' correspondence with constituents.

But critics said this was already covered by data protection law and claimed the real aim was to block embarrassing disclosures about MPs' spending habits.

Lewes MP Norman Baker, who spoke for more than two hours to thwart the Bill's passage the last time it came before the Commons, tried to repeat the trick today with a series of delaying tactics.

These included presenting a series of petitions, ranging in subject from noise affecting residents near the Lewes bypass to a campaign to re-open the Lewes-Uckfield railway line, debating amendments at length, raising points of order and taking multiple interventions.

However, when the vote came, he was unable to muster enough opposition to defeat the Bill, which now passes to the Lords for further consideration.

Mr Baker said after the vote: "This is a terrible day for parliamentary democracy and, in particular, for the House of Commons."

He argued: "It is effrontery for the House of Commons to make the deeply hypocritical move of exempting itself from a law that applies to every other public body in the country.

"It is also deeply undemocratic that MPs on both the Government and Conservative benches have clearly collaborated to ensure that those with a contrary view, fighting for open government, were silenced after barely any debate on amendments to the Bill."

He added: "The battle is far from over, however, and the public can rest assured that I will be working with colleagues across the party divide to employ every tactic we can to stop this odious Bill."

Dr Turner, defending his decision to back the Bill, told The Argus: "As it stands, MPs' correspondence, which may involve confidential matters, can be looked at by other people. In practice, the Data Protection Act doesn't seem to be effective."

He added: "I don't wish to water down the Freedom of Information Act."

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