Expenses secrecy bid MPs accused
MPs who backed a bill that would have blocked public release of
parliamentary expense claims are among the latest accused of benefiting
from the system.
Tory MP David Maclean, who led the secrecy bid, rejected Sunday
Telegraph claims he used public money to renovate a house and avoid
capital gains tax.
Labour MPs David Clelland and Fraser Kemp and Tories Julian Lewis and
David Ruffley are also accused of benefiting.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has vowed to stamp out "unacceptable
behaviour".
Writing in the News of the World, Mr Brown said he "does not rule out
any sanction", as he pledged to restore trust after the expenses
revelations.
The latest in a string of allegations published by the Telegraph Media
Group focuses on MPs who backed an unsuccessful bill, introduced by Mr
Maclean, to exempt MPs from the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act.
“ I was forced to obey a rule which I thought illogical ”
David Maclean Conservative MP
The newspaper claims that after using £20,000 of taxpayer's money to
renovate a property before selling it, Mr Maclean, who represents
Penrith and The Border, avoided paying capital gains tax on the sale by
telling the taxman it was his main home. But in a statement issued to
the BBC, the MP said he utterly refuted the allegation. He said that
when he became opposition chief whip he was told it was compulsory to
make London his main home.
"I have never 'flipped' my property or sought to refurbish it at
taxpayers expense," he said.
Meanwhile, Tyne Bridge MP David Clelland reportedly "bought out" his
partner's share of a joint mortgage on a flat in London at a cost of
thousands of pounds to the taxpayer in higher claims for interest
payments as well as legal fees.
'Nothing illegal'
The Telegraph says that after the deal, approved by the Commons fees
office, mortgage interest payments - funded by expenses - increased by
almost £200 a month.
However, the Labour backbench MP has said there was "nothing illegal or
improper" in the claims he had made.
Referring to the London property, he said: "I don't regard it as a home
- [it] is what I have to have to do my work as a member of parliament.
And that's why the costs fall on the taxpayer."
Other claims include:
* Former Labour whip Fraser Kemp is said to have apologised for
repeat claims for items for his second home. The MP for Houghton and
Washington East is reported to have claimed for 16 bed sheets, two
televisions and two DVD players for a one-bedroom flat. Mr Kemp told the
Telegraph he would pay money back for his "error".
* New Forest East MP Julian Lewis, who reportedly claimed more than
£7,000 from the taxpayer for redecorating his second home and installing
new kitchen appliances, has denied any wrongdoing. The Conservative MP
said the Westminster expenses system was "rotten" but insisted he had
only used it to carry out essential maintenance and had not abused the
system.
* Reports suggested Tory shadow minister for police reform David
Ruffley had "flipped" his second home from London to his Bury St Edmunds
constituency before claiming back thousands for furniture and fittings,
including a £1,674 sofa.
Mr Ruffley said he had saved the taxpayer cash by designating his London
property as his main home, while renting an unfurnished constituency
property.
He had asked the Fees Office what an appropriate reimbursement would be
and as a result paid for two-thirds of the cost of a £2,175 Harrods TV
and £6,765 in bedroom furniture himself.
Amid signs of rising public anger about some MP expense and allowance
claims, the prime minister wrote he was under "no illusions that
repayment will not necessarily be sufficient sanction".
Mr Brown's comments came after a week in which former Labour minister
Elliot Morley and Labour MP David Chaytor were suspended from the
Parliamentary Labour Party after admitting claiming for a mortgages that
had already been cleared.
EXPENSES ROW CASUALTIES
# David Chaytor - suspended from Parliamentary Labour Party after
reports he claimed £13,000 for a mortgage he had already paid off
# Elliot Morley - suspended from Parliamentary Labour Party after
admitting claiming £16,000 for a mortgage he had already paid off
# Shahid Malik - resigned as justice minister pending inquiry into his
expenses
# Andrew MacKay - quit as parliamentary aide to David Cameron over
"unacceptable" expenses claim
Labour's Shahid Malik also stood down from ministerial post pending an
inquiry into his expenses while Tory MP Andrew MacKay quit as
parliamentary aide to David Cameron over an expenses claim.
The BBC's political correspondent Carole Walker said the prime minister
had a number of disciplinary options at his disposal, including
expelling individuals from the Labour Party or the government itself.
David Cameron has already stated that Conservative MPs must repay any
"excessive" expenses claims or face expulsion from from the party.
The Metropolitan Police Service and Crown Prosecution Service are due to
meet next week to discuss whether a criminal investigation should be
launched into some of the Telegraph's allegations about MPs.
Opinion polls published in Sunday's newspapers appeared to indicate the
extent to which the expenses row has damaged Labour in the run up to the
Euro and local elections, due to be held on 4 June.
A BPIX poll of 2,300 people for the Mail on Sunday newspaper found just
17% of voters polled planned to vote Labour at the European elections
next month - the same percentage which pledged to vote for the UK
Independence Party.
Another poll by ComRes for the Independent on Sunday suggested Labour
might get 21% of the projected vote, compared with 40% for the Tories,
18% for the Lib Dems and 21% for "other parties", such as Green and
UKIP.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.
Published: 2009/05/17 08:00:36 GMT
Sunday, 17 May 2009
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