Some are more equal than others

It merged from an innocent question in the House of Commons last week, from a Conservative MP asking why he was unable to send his tax return "on-line", that some people's tax returns have a higher level of security than others, and that the higher security returns cannot be posted on line.

The list of those with high security doubtless contains members of the Royal Family, and it certainly contains all MPs, as the answer to the MP's question admitted.

At a time when HMRC is beginning to force us to post our returns on line, - after September each year the returns must be on line, and there is no choice, to hear that our data has a lower level of security is worrying. We have observed the casual way in which Government departments use and lose data, so this is all a major concern.

We can accept that the tax affairs of members of the Royal Family could be a magnet for all sorts of hackers, but what have the MPs to hide? (After recent scandals, often revealed only by investigative journalists, it is difficult to justify.)

Above all why were MPs not told of the arrangement previously?