In the followup to the riots that hit the UK earlier in the week, MPs have been trying to out-authoritarian one another. However, we should remember that many of the people doing the name calling here are guilty of some "looting" of their own. I thought it would be of interest to compare their "looting" during the expenses scandal to that of the rioters involved in disturbances in the UK's cities recently. It turns out that MPs do more looting per person than rioters. I am expecting to take delivery of my big society water cannon any day now …
Note: These figures are total expenses claimed. I couldn't find a total figure for fraudulent claims. I would love to have that data if anyone knows where I should look. Numbers of arrests were correct when I looked. Obviously not everyone involved in the disturbances will get arrested.