WILLIAM Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies tells of a group of well-educated children who find themselves stranded on a paradise island miles away from reality.

They try to live by the rule of democracy but, without any restraints upon them except their own concept of morality, they descend into venal brutality.

Even while many of them know what they are doing is wrong, they just can’t prevent themselves from doing it.

The book is a dis-spiriting study of human nature, but our MPs have proved every word of it to be depressingly true.

It is important to state that nearly all MPs set out on their careers in Parliament with the most laudable of intentions, and they do serve the country.

It is also important to recognise that many MPs – particularly those from more distant regions like the North- East – do need somewhere to lay their heads when they spend most of their time away from their constituencies.

However, when these well-intentioned people found themselves without any rules to restrain them, they descended – as Lord of the Flies said they would – into greedy savagery.

“Flipping” homes to maximise the allowance is immoral. Claiming up to £4,800-a-year for food – yes, the odd sandwich but not £400-a-month, month after month – is wrong, particularly when the basic state pension is only £4,900-a-year.

Surely MPs’ consciences must have been pricked when they tried to claim for Christmas trees or for houses they hadn’t bought yet, or for toilet rolls, bath sponges, cleaners and swimming pool maintenance.

But as there were no rules to prevent them, they went ahead and claimed.

Of course, very few of us mortals are whiter than white. There are tax fiddlers and benefit cheats aplenty all around us. Many people maximise their work expenses or inflate their mileage.

But this looks like wholesale plunder of the national coffers by those who are supposed to have integrity and respectability.

We are witnessing one of the sorriest episodes in our national life.