THE Northern Echo will begin examining expenses receipts submitted by some of the region’s MPs today – even though some MPs have delayed publication.

Labour MPs Roberta Blackman- Woods (Durham City) and Phil Wilson (Sedgefield) have agreed to open their books following the precedent set last week by Kevan Jones (Durham North). But other MPs, including Alan Milburn (Darlington), Vera Baird (Redcar), and Sharon Hodgson (Gateshead East and Washington West), were still concerned about publishing online.

They fear they could inadvertently publish personal information, such as bank account details, addresses and national insurance numbers, even if they take security steps. MPs have received conflicting advice. Some backbenchers have said online publication is safe, but the Commons fees office has advised against the move.

One MP, who had pledged to publish receipts early, insisted that was still a priority, adding: “There is a lot of work going on to try and find a solution to this problem.”

However, adding to the confusion, Hilary Armstrong (Durham North West) and Dari Taylor (Stockton South) intend to press ahead with online publication, possibly as early as today.

As the scandal has unfolded at Westminster, a clear divide has opened between MPs desperate to prove they have done nothing wrong as quickly as possible and those who are more cautious. Although the Commons authorities have pledged to speed up official publication – following the leak of every MPs’ receipts to the Daily Telegraph – that will not happen until mid-June.

Sir Stuart Bell (Middlesbrough), Ashok Kumar (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland), Frank Cook (Stockton North) and Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) have opted to wait for the authorities to act.

Sir Stuart said any MP complying with the Labour Party’s call to make receipts available immediately would be breaching data protection laws.

Three MPs – Iain Wright (Hartlepool), Hugh Bayley (City of York) and Chris Mullin (Sunderland South) – have not responded to telephone calls made by The Northern Echo.

Another, Fraser Kemp (Houghton and Washington East), faced embarrassment at the weekend, when it was revealed he claimed for two DVD players, two flat-screen televisions and 16 bed sheets for his one-bedroom London flat.

The former whip also charged the taxpayer £105.75 for an engineer to attend to his washing machine when he could not work out how to operate it, it was reported.

Mr Kemp said the claims for bed linen and a second DVD player were “an error” and pledged to pay back the cash, plus the claim for his washing machine.