British MPs could face jail in parliament shake-up

British lawmakers could face jail for making false expenses claims, under reform proposals unveiled Tuesday to respond to a scandal which has shaken Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government to its core. The legislative plans were presented as a new speaker took office in the House of Commons, vowing a clean break following hugely damaging revelations about expenses claimed by members of parliament (MPs).
Brown pledged to open a "new chapter" with Speaker John Bercow, who was elected late Monday after his scandal-tainted predecessor resigned, in the first such ouster in 300 years. "I am determined that it is cleaned up in such a way that we can say to the people of this country: 'We listened, we heard, we knew something was wrong, we have now dealt with it'," Brown said before the reforms were proposed to MPs. Struggling to draw a line under weeks of political turmoil, lawmakers elected Bercow to succeed Michael Martin, blamed for blocking efforts to reform parliamentary rules.