Kilroy's kangaroo testicles and Spanish practices...

Robert Kilroy Silk - who faced a storm a couple of months ago when he was paid to appear on 'I'm a Celebrity' at the same time as collecting generous wages to represent us as Euro-MP for the East Midlands - is clearly finding it tough to survive the economic downturn.

He's apparently been forced to advertise his luxury Spanish villa for rent - for a cool £12,750 a fortnight.

If you want 'extras' like air-con for your stay at Permatan's Pad, that will cost you another £250.

And to squeeze every penny, you can even get a map of the local area thrown in for another four quid. What a cheek.

Wonder how much extra he charges for his sun-beds?

So why is he trying to rent out his villa, which rather ironically is said to be a former olive mill (no, honestly!).

Well, locals say Kilroy is rarely seen there. Critics of course would say he's rarely seen at the Euro-Parliament either where he reportedly misses at least half the votes, attracting derision in such publications as Private Eye.

In fact, few have seen Kilroy in the East Midlands, never mind the Euro-Parliament since the good people of Erewash in Derbyshire rejected his vain bid to become their MP in the 2005 General Election - see photo.

Which was an even bigger humiliation to his ego than becoming the first 'celeb' to be booted out of the jungle when the former MP and sacked chat-show host attempted to relaunch his TV career before Christmas...

I loved the comment from Labour's Glenis Willmott at the time. Glenis suggested that Kilroy was elected to represent the people of the East Midlands, not parade in an Australian jungle chewing kangaroo testicles!

Our Glenis to lead Labour in Europe...

Congratulations to our East Midlands Euro-MP Glenis Willmott who has today been chosen as Labour’s new leader in Europe.

Glenis becomes the second woman to become Labour's Leader in the European Parliament - the first being the legendary Barbara Castle.

And like Barbara Castle before her, Glenis is a real fighter for the interests of people, both here in the UK and across Europe.

Since becoming our MEP only two years ago, Glenis has proved to be a real people's champion. (CORRECTION - it's actually three years since Glenis became MEP).

She works her socks off to toughen safeguards for consumers, from combatting over-charging by mobile phone companies to increasing protection when people are booking holidays and ending hidden airfare costs.

She campaigns to protect young people through the introduction of a missing children helpline, a child trafficking advice line and improvement to internet safeguards.

She is currently fighting for free fruit and veg to be offered to all primary school children, and has highlighted legislation to make toys safer as well as new strategies to fight obesity sooner and cut teenage smoking rates.

She also raises awareness of cervical cancer and screening and has championed a national cervical cancer vaccination programme launched last September.

And among many other campaigns, she has fought to save jobs for disabled people in the East Midlands, promoted active ageing and independent living for older people and worked to ban the import of products causing harm to animals.

Born into a mining family, Glenis began her career in medical science in Mansfield before working for Mansfield MP Alan Meale and later becoming one of the few women to hold a top trade union position as senior officer, looking after GMB members in Lincolnshire.

She became Labour’s Member of the European Parliament for the East Midlands in February 2006 following the sudden death of Phillip Whitehead.

Newsnight Questions over Tory Chairman Caroline Spelman and the public purse...

Tory Party chairman Caroline Spelman appears to have paid the wages of her nanny out of the public purse, apparently breaking rules on parliamentary allowances, according to BBC Newsnight's top story tonight.

Ironically, it was Ms Spelman who was tasked by Tory Leader David Cameron to clean up the Tory image following the £445,000 expenses scandal of Giles 'oops-a-daisy' Chichester.

He was forced yesterday to resign as Leader of the Tories in Europe after admitting breaching European Parliament rules.

Ms Spelman was due this weekend to examine Mr Chichester's expense claims!

Newsnight reporter Michael Crick called into question attempts by Tory HQ to claim that Mrs Spelman's nanny was constituency secretary as well as childminder. A Tory Party spokesperson suggested that a large part of Tina Haynes' work was as a secretary.

But in a telephone interview with Crick earlier today, Ms Haynes made it clear that although she occasionally answered the phone and posted letters, her primary role was childminding...

As former standards chairman Alistair Graham told Newsnight: "These stories are very damaging to our political system."

At least we now know what the Tories mean when they talk about 'The Nanny State'...

UPDATE: The BBC website is now carrying the story.

UPDATE 2: Now also running on the Daily Mail website.

'Keep the Pound' Tory steps down after paying his family £750,000...

A second top Tory has been forced to step down after it was revealed that he has handed £758,000 in public money to his wife and daughter.

£758,000. That's over three-quarters of a million. Pounds. Not Euros.

David Cameron's Chief Whip at the European Parliament Den Dover denies any wrong-doing in paying his wife and daughter more than three-quarters of a million pounds of public money over the past nine years.

He is a leading campaigner to "Keep the Pound".

Now we know what he means.

The news comes less than 24-hours after Giles Chichester resigned as Tory Leader in Brussels after an expenses scandal involving £445,000.

These scandals don't just damage the Tory Party.

They damage democracy itself.

Whoops-a-daisy Tory resigns after new expenses scandal...

The senior Tory politician who tried to laugh off a £400,000 expenses scandal, arrogantly saying 'whoops-a-daisy' - as posted HERE earlier today - was tonight forced resign as Leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament.

But he will continue as a Tory MEP.

I understand Friday's Daily Mail will call for David Cameron to expel Giles Chichester from the Conservative Party.

Oh, that Birmingham...!

How well do you expect members of the European Parliament to know the patch they are elected to represent...?

Brummie Tom Watson MP has a story that suggests that the Tory MEPs elected to represent the West Midlands can't tell the difference between Britain's second city and a town in Alabama...