It would appear the decision by the Speaker of the House of Commons and his committee to decide to destroy expense claims for Members of Parliament paid during the past six years, on the grounds of data protection, appears ridiculous to a lay person.

The HMRC requires this information to be kept and available for seven years for PAYE taxpayers, or six years for the self-employed.

Are the MPs now claiming they are self-employed and, if so, why are they not responsible for providing their own pension in exactly the same way as other self-employed?

Will HMRC now raid bank accounts on the basis of second guessing the validity of MPs’ income, as they have threatened to do to ordinary taxpayers?

Barry Burton, Fareham.