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The expenses scandal rocked Westminster

The expenses scandal began because the mole who caused the leak was angry about inadequate equipment for the armed forces, the Daily Telegraph said.

The newspaper says staff who worked in secrecy processing the MPs' receipts were guarded by moonlighting servicemen on leave between tours.

They became angry when they learned of MPs' lavish claims when soldiers had inadequate equipment, the paper says.

Many servicemen were working so they could buy better kit, the paper adds.

Tipping point

The unidentified mole is quoted as saying the soldiers' accounts of their poor equipment prompted him to leak the information.

The paper quotes the mole as saying: "It's not easy to watch footage on the television news of a coffin draped in a Union Jack and then come in to work the next day and see on your computer screen what MPs are taking for themselves."

The stark contrast between conditions facing soldiers and the MPs' lavish claims "helped tip the balance in the decision over whether I should or should not leak the expenses data," the mole is quoted as saying.