"When I told her the posh chocolate biscuits had been listed in the press, she retorted ’well, you don’t expect me to eat Family Circle under this kind of pressure do you?’ No, I don’t, because she has been bang on in her judgment and the way she has handled our office accounts"

- expenses scandal-hit Mid Beds MP Nadine Dorries attributes a taxpayer cost of £34.38 for two packs of luxury biscuits to her office administrator Pippa, "who does have one flaw - biscuits", after MPs expenses claims were made public

"If I didn’t laugh I’d cry! It was an emotional journey for me. I did really need that money to pump into my business and I was kind of relying on it. But I’ve since bitten the bullet and taken out a bank loan to fund the renovations. It was a bit of a shock but I got over it after a couple of days - it’s just one of those things"

- 33-year-old cake maker Rachel Edwards from Ecclesall puts on a brave face after banking on the prize money from appearing on Channel 4’s Deal or No Deal, but walking away as the show’s lowest ever prize winner, with just 17p of prize money