Keen MPs help victims of Farepak

Husband and wife MPs Ann and Alan Keen have visited Feltham residents hit by the collapse of Christmas hamper company Farepak – reports the Brentford, Chiswick & Isleworth Times.

The MPs visited Burns Avenue neighbours said to be worst affected in the borough, after losing £30,000.

The government introduced a Farepak Response Fund after the company went bust last month and Ann Keen has confirmed that she supports the idea.

"Seeing people on such low incomes being exploited really turns you inside. I am doing everything I can to support my constituents who are affected.", she said.

Adding: "On this occasion I can also confirm that Alan Keen MP will be following suit."

Alan Keen MP said: "The top priority is to get the best financial settlement possible for those families affected before Christmas, and every contribution no matter how small will help towards that."

However, the Response Fund, welcome though it is, can only hope to repay a fraction of the amount people have lost.

The fund currently stands at £4m, whereas the total loss to Farepak customers in the UK is estimated at between £60m - £80m.

Yet meanwhile, both Ann and Alan Keen intend to vote to approve paying an extra £2.5bn a year to the EU – a 60% ‘raise’ over the billions we already pay.

That’s money that could relieve the victims of the Farepak collapse at a stroke, if Ann and Alan Keen were really prepared to do "everything" they can.

What would the EU do with the money instead? No-one knows for sure how the EU spends the money we give it. Auditors haven’t been able to sign off the EU’s accounts as accurate for twelve years in row.