Although it is our names that appear on the cover, this book would not have been possible without the help and support of the team who worked on the investigation into MPs’ expenses.
The investigation itself could not have gone ahead had it not been for the courage and conviction of the Barclay family and Murdoch MacLennan, the chief executive of Telegraph Media Group, who backed their staff to the hilt. William Lewis, our editor, put his own neck on the block in deciding to go ahead with one of the riskiest stories in the Telegraph’s history; he also gave us limitless amounts of his time to provide his own recollections for this book and constant guidance during the writing process.
We are indebted to all those who worked in the bunker for their help in providing first-hand material and anecdotes for this book. In particular, thanks must go to reporters Holly Watt, Rosa Prince, Christopher Hope, Martin Beckford, Jon Swaine, Nick Allen and Caroline Gammell for their enthusiastic support throughout. Others who played vital roles in the bunker, including Duncan Hooper, Ian Douglas, Richard Oliver, Keith Hoggins, Himesh Patel and Veronica Hale, also deserve special mention.
News executives Tony Gallagher, Chris Evans and Matthew Bayley gave us vital help in reconstructing some of the key meetings which took place during the investigation, and also cast their expert eyes over the manuscript.
Arthur Wynn Davies, the Telegraph’s chief lawyer, has our gratitude for bringing his unrivalled experience and infectious good humour to the expenses project from start to finish.
Thanks also go to Andrew Porter, Andrew Pierce, Benedict Brogan and James Kirkup for their invaluable insights into what was going on in Parliament and in the wider world at the height of the investigation, and for so admirably representing the Telegraph by satisfying the countless requests for interviews during May, June and July.
Thank you to Rhidian Wynn Davies for helping us shape this book into its final form; to Matt Pritchett, the Telegraph’s peerless cartoonist, for allowing us to reproduce his work; and to Bill Scott-Kerr, Simon Thorogood and everyone at Bantam Press for steering us so expertly through the editing process.
Others at the Telegraph who played their part in the hugely complex expenses investigation are too numerous to name individually here, but they know who they are, and they can rest assured we appreciate the efforts of each and every one.
Lastly, our thanks must go to John Wick for his professionalism in handling such delicate material and his help in enabling us to tell the full story of how the leak of the expenses data came about.
Robert Winnett and Gordon Rayner
London, September 2009