So, the chairman of Ipsa believes every MP who has made a complaint about Ipsa - including all of us who took part in a Westminster Hall debate on the subject on 16 June - is a liar.As Tim and Obnoxio point out, the answer to that particular query is an unqualified and emphatic, yes.
Our statist-driven bureaucrat then goes on to bemoan statist-driven bureaucracy:
I'm sure his Director of Corporate Information and Communications Technology, or one of his three deputy directors, told McDonald that this was the case. But how does he know that on each occasion, the person using the system logged off entirely happy with the service? Yesterday, for example, I gritted my teeth and logged on to try to make some claims. As per procedure, after a few minutes I tried to phone Ipsa to ask for help. I waited for 15 minutes before hanging up and trying again. Then the phone cut out on me after I'd got through. Then I tried again and it was engaged. I tried three more times and on the third time I got through to a very helpful gentleman who explained how I could progress my session. He rung off and I continued my session. Then discovered I was locked out of the system. I gave up. Now, in IpsaLand, this was simply an MP logging onto the system and then, half an hour or so later, logging out. But on the planet Earth, this was an MP giving up in frustration and not claiming money that was due to him. I get the feeling that that's the point of the system. As for claims being paid within 13 days, the only claims that I know of that are paid that quickly are mileage claims. Many colleagues have claimed bitterly that they are thousands of pounds out of pocket thanks to Ipsa's tardiness. But then, they're MPs and are therefore lying, according to Mr Kennedy.Pot, kettle. Petard, hoist.
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