Censored: From pergola to dishwasher
Here are some more particularly strange examples of information blanked out in today's from the House of Commons when it has already been officially published.
In May 2008, the Commons was forced to release material about the expenses of 14 MPs who had been the specific subject of FOI requests. Comparing this with today's disclosures throws up some particularly intriguing cases where information has been redacted, although it would seem to have no implications for the personal security of MPs.
We knew that today's material would not include correspondence with the fees office and notes of conversations, so for example it does not contain the record of John Prescott's unease about the "adverse press coverage" of his council tax payments [134Kb PDF].
But there are other differences with the previous disclosures which are much more surprising. As well as those affecting Gordon Brown, they include the following facts which were once public but are now apparently meant to be secret:
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The fact that Margaret Beckett had a claim for plants and a pergola reduced
Today:
As disclosed in May 2008:
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The fact that Tony Blair was late paying his water bill
Today:
As disclosed in May 2008:
§
The model of Tony Blair's dishwasher
Today:
As disclosed in May 2008:
§
The fact that Sir Menzies Campbell preferred Commons officials to add up his taxi bills rather than doing the arithmetic himself
Today:
As disclosed in May 2008:
A 
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