Old Newscast: The Expenses Scandal, 2009 (Part 1)

Today’s Old Newscast focuses on 8 May 2009 - the day that The Daily Telegraph publishes the first in a long series of stories about MPs expenses. We hear how the information that changed the way the British public view politics was leaked.

Adam is joined by two people who were reporting at the heart of the story - former Whitehall Editor of the Telegraph, Chris Hope, and Jo Coburn - then of the BBC.

This episode tells the story of what led to that day - disgruntled off duty soldiers, a ‘bunker’ of journalists on a secret mission, and a disk full of information kept under high security.

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere

New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bit.ly/3ENLcS1 Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Rufus Gray. The technical producer was Dafydd Evans. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.