The dust finally seems to be settling on the MP’s expenses saga, though I think it’s safe to say it won’t be too long before the issue pops up again in some way or other.

Since the Daily Telegraph newspaper first broke the story on the 8th of May it surely must be the most covered item of the year, although Michael Jackson’s death cannot be far behind.

The Telegraph really did open a can of worms, and one that seemed to be getting deeper by the day. They really put their collective rivals’ noses out of joint but within hours their competitors, from the broadsheets through to the weekly local papers, were all vying for a piece of the action and getting in one the act.

Daily Telegraph assistant editor, Andrew Pierce, has referred to the investigation as “proper old fashioned journalism at its finest”, and defending it as being in the public interest, although defending is probably too strong a word here, because surely it’s the media’s duty to investigate and report on fraud – especially on such a widescale – and even more so when the public are paying for it.

But what prompted the investigation? The Daily Telegraph is notoriously right wing (which is why it’s affectionately known as the Torygraph – geddit?), but in fairness it ensured that no-one was left untouched. Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats; all were caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Traditional political lines have become increasingly blurred since the early 1990s, so was the Telegraph trying to shake things up in some way; after all it broke the story just ahead of the European elections?

Consider this. The Euro elections, as with the local elections, don’t experience a large voter turnout and, therefore, are not considered to carry much weight and are often use by the public as a way of protesting about something.

So by unsettling the main three parties, was the Telegraph hoping that a certain other right wing party might come to the fore (the BNP), as a result of a public protest? After all, the BNP has started to get its act together in recent years and has been in a prime position to blame immigration on the UK’s woes, and judging by their results it’s an argument that many voters believed.

Of course, no-one can truly think that the BNP can gain headway in Parliament, but a voter protest (especially a right wing one) could be enough for the Tories to realise they’ve moved away from what they traditional stand for and, therefore, if the people want right wing, then who better to provide it? All they need to do is unfurl their traditional colours and nail them to the mast.

Or was the Telegraph simply doing what the media should do; reporting in an impartial manner? With newspaper sales flagging across every title, such a high-profile, long-running story would give the Telegraph’s sales a real boost and also increase traffic to the website; and it is sales figures that help sell advertising space which keeps the media afloat.

Being the owner of such a high-profile story, the Telegraph might have even gained readers from their rivals; a nice bit of business.

In the words of Private Eye, trebles all round!