United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal grandees’ of the party. On 12 May, the Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron, announced that all questionable claims by the Shadow Cabinet would be repaid. The Liberal Democrats expenses were revealed last of the three main parties, followed by Sinn Féin members' claims in which it was reported that the five Sinn Féin MPs together had claimed nearly £500,000 in second home allowances, despite never taking up their seats at Westminster due to the party's abstentionist policy. Sinn Féin stated that its members often have to travel to London on parliamentary business. The claims published by "The Daily Telegraph"
United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal "It was a brooch my husband had given me. I'd had four weeks of intense media pressure, the like of which I have never known, not just on me but on my husband, my dad, my family. At that point I'd had enough. It was a stupid thing to do but I think it was just trying to put a brave face on—not going out cowed on the basis of expenses claims that genuinely are not true." On 25 May 2009, Health Secretary Alan Johnson (seen as a possible candidate for Labour leadership) stated that one response to the controversy