Federal Executive acknowledge the strength of feeling amongst the public and our members and activists concerning the way in which Members of Parliament have been reimbursed for expenses and the revelations about the misconduct of particular Parliamentarians.

In expressing our disappointment in the behaviour and judgment of some Parliamentarians we reflected on how this situation is bad for democracy as a whole and unfairly damages the reputations of the many elected representatives that perform their public duties with integrity.

Federal Executive welcomed the strong leadership shown on this issue by our Leader, Nick Clegg. His commitment to support Christopher Kelly’s Review of MPs’ Expenses, his stand on the sale of second homes and his calling for the resignation of the Speaker of the House of Commons reflects our support for a thorough overhaul of the discredited present expenses system.

Federal Executive was briefed on the actions being taken by the Chief Whips in both Houses to review individually the expenses and allowances of all MPs and Peers. We noted the range of sanctions available for those who are found to have fallen short of the standards expected. Federal Executive was reassured that any Liberal Democrat MP found to be guilty of serious wrongdoing would have the whip withdrawn leading to deselection and would be referred by the party to the Commissioner for Standards. The Chief Whips will report on the actions they have taken at the next Federal Executive.

Federal Executive believes the principles of accountability, honesty, transparency and openness should underpin the new approach to expenses. We support an end to the self-regulation of parliament. Instead decisions currently taken by parliament which affect expenses, salaries, pensions and disciplinary procedures should be taken by an independent body, guaranteed by statute. We would also expect the new approach to build on the standards now adopted in local government towards the reimbursement of expenses incurred for performing public duties. We ask the Leader to reflect these views in our party’s response to the public consultation on Christopher Kelly’s Review of MPs’ Expenses.

By mid-June the Chief Whips in both Houses, working with other relevant parts of the party will produce a Code of Conduct for Liberal Democrat parliamentarians. The party’s Audit and Compliance Board will outline principles which will inform this Code of Conduct. Those drafting the Code were asked to consider issues covering, but not be limited to, guidance in addressing the following areas:

• Auditing of accounts
• Complete transparency of expenditure of public money
• Real time disclosure of receipt claims
• An expenses regime which accurately reflects the duties undertaken by Parliamentarians
• Sanctions for those found to be in breach of the Code

All Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidates will agree to abide by the Code of Conduct as a condition of selection. Other state parties and the European parliamentary party will be asked to produce a Code of Conduct which will similarly apply to all candidates.

The Federal Executive welcome the Leader’s commitment that all Liberal Democrat MPs will support Christopher Kelly’s proposals. These will be entirely independent proposals. There will be no picking and choosing of which of his recommendations to support.

Following publication, Lords McNally and Shutt will undertake a through review of expenses and allowances in the House of Lords which will draw on the work to be undertaken by the independent external assessor who is to be appointed immediately.

Reacting to the end of British combat operations in Iraq, and the handover of control in Basra to US forces, Nick Clegg said, "We must never forget the enormous sacrifices that our troops made in this conflict."

Nick went on to say, "their bravery and professionalism have been matched only by the incompetence of their political masters."

However the Liberal Democrat Leader went on to criticise the policy which lead to war, "today marks the end of a dark chapter in British foreign policy. The decision to go to war on a false pretext was the most disastrous foreign policy decision since Suez."

Concluding Mr Clegg said, "The winding down of operations in Iraq should hopefully bring some relief to our overstretched Armed Forces. But the terrible toll taken by this ill-judged conflict will continue to cast a long shadow over our ability to carry out the mission in Afghanistan."

Click here to read other stories about our opposition to and protest against the Iraq war >>

Only seven people caught selling alcohol to children in 2007 were given the maximum fine, figures highlighted by the Liberal Democrats show.

The information, contained in a Parliamentary answer, shows that:

• No one was fined the maximum amount for selling or allowing the sale of alcohol to under 18s
• No one was find the maximum amount for persistently selling alcohol to children
• Only seven were fined the maximum amount for selling alcohol to children for consumption on the premises

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said:

"The Government likes to talk tough, but these figures show people being let off lightly for selling alcohol to children.

"Rather than more posturing, ministers should enforce a strict policy to ensure those caught selling alcohol to children lose their licence."

Read more about the Liberal Democrat approach to alcohol licensing >>

Commenting on today’s Home Affairs Select Committee report into police involvement in the Home Office leaks inquiry, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said: “Frustration at the leaks within the Cabinet Office should not have led to the exaggeration of the facts."

"Officials seemed to have complained about national security when all they wanted to hide was their embarrassment.

"It is unacceptable for the police to be told that national security had already been damaged if it had not.

"The police should never have been involved in this case, which should have been handled as an internal Civil Service disciplinary matter."

Commenting on today’s Home Affairs Select Committee report into police involvement in the Home Office leaks inquiry, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said: “Frustration at the leaks within the Cabinet Office should not have led to the exaggeration of the facts."

"Officials seemed to have complained about national security when all they wanted to hide was their embarrassment.

"It is unacceptable for the police to be told that national security had already been damaged if it had not.

"The police should never have been involved in this case, which should have been handled as an internal Civil Service disciplinary matter."

Commenting on DNA expert Professor Alec Jeffreys’ condemnation of the Government for holding innocent people’s details on the DNA database, Liberal Democrat Shadow Home Secretary, Chris Huhne said: “It demonstrates how out of touch the Government is with public opinion when the inventor of genetic fingerprinting has to tell them how unfair the DNA database is."

"It is unacceptable for the state to store the DNA of innocent people. The European Court agrees, Professor Jeffreys agrees and the public agrees. The Government must bring forward concrete proposals to remove the DNA of those that have done nothing wrong.

"Professor Jeffreys is also right to point out that the DNA database is not the flawless crime-fighting tool ministers would have us believe."

Commenting on new Government plans to dock alcoholics’ benefits if they do not get treatment, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Steve Webb said: “Threatening to deprive people of their basic benefits unless they recover from alcoholism is fundamentally inhumane."

"There are far too few support services for alcoholics, and there is no evidence that people who are threatened in this way are more likely to seek help.

"This is no more than typical New Labour posturing."

Commenting on the admission by the IPCC that its chairman was wrong to claim there was no CCTV footage of the alleged assault of Ian Tomlinson at the G20 protests, Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Howarth said: “This investigation has been characterised by the authorities jumping to conclusions and issuing inaccurate statements."

"This latest U-turn hardly adds to public confidence in this inquiry.

"There is clearly no shortage of footage of the incident concerned."

The number of people admitted to hospital with anaphylactic shock has doubled in ten years, figures uncovered by the Liberal Democrats have revealed.

The figures, released in answer to a Parliamentary Question, show that:

• The number of hospital admissions has doubled to 3,385
• The number of deaths from anaphylactic shock has tripled to 24 a year
• Anaphylactic shock due to adverse reactions to drugs and medicines has almost doubled to 494 incidents a year

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Health Secretary, Norman Lamb said:

"Understanding what the cause of this shocking increase is must be an urgent priority.

"While the number of fatalities is currently relatively low, a threefold increase is horrifying. Every effort must be made to reverse this disturbing trend.

"The Government must investigate why this is happening so that preventative action can be taken urgently."

The video which shows the man who died at last week’s G20 protests in London being hit from behind by a police officer, has been described by David Howarth as "sickening".

Liberal Democrat Shadow Justice Secretary, David Howarth, who attended the protests to monitor police behaviour, went on to say:

"This video clearly shows an unprovoked attack by a police officer on a passer by. It is sickening.

David went on to call for criminal investigation to find out the facts of the incident:

"There must be a full-scale criminal investigation. The officer concerned and the other officers shown in the video must immediately come forward.

"Questions must also be asked about the hyping up of the prospect of violence in the run up to the demonstrations. An atmosphere was created in which this sort of conduct became more likely."

Source: guardian.co.uk