Labour MP faces mortgage claims
Another Labour MP faces allegations that he claimed thousands of pounds
for a mortgage he had already cleared.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Bury North MP David Chaytor received
nearly £13,000 for a flat in Westminster that had been paid off in 2004.
The MP, thought to be on his way back from the US, is said to have
admitted he made an "unforgivable error".
Labour MPs Sir Gerald Kaufman and Chris Bryant and Tory Anthony Steen
also face fresh allegations over expense claims.
Earlier this week, former farming minister Eliot Morley was suspended
from the Labour Party after he admitted claiming £16,000 in House of
Commons expenses for a mortgage which had been paid off.
Dewsbury MP Shahid Malik also stood down from his junior minister job on
Friday, pending an inquiry into his expenses.
The BBC has been unable to speak to Mr Chaytor, who has been on an
official trip to the US.
But the Telegraph quotes him as saying there had been an "unforgivable
error in my accounting procedures for which I apologise unreservedly"
He reportedly told the paper he would immediately arrange repayment to
the House of Commons fees office.
The Telegraph also says he "flipped" the designation of his second home
six times, including once to a house registered in his son's name.
According to BBC political correspondent Gary O'Donoghue, Downing Street
sources had said they took the matter "very seriously", and Labour's
chief whip would be discussing the matter urgently with Mr Chaytor.
Mr Chaytor's wife Sheena said her husband "was very shocked when he
heard" of the claims around his expenses, adding that he was
"flabbergasted, he could not believe it".
She said: "He has made a really stupid mistake. It was a mistake but I
do not suppose anybody will believe that. I hope so though."
The Telegraph also says veteran Labour MP Sir Gerald Kaufman claimed
£1,851 for a rug from a New York antique centre and tried to claim more
than £8,000 for a television.
The paper says Sir Gerald has offered to repay the money for the rug and
says he described the claim for the television as "a bit daft".
“ Due to the increase in... allegations [we have] decided to convene a
panel to assess allegations.
should be started ”
Crown Prosecution Service / Metropolitan Police statement
Another Labour MP, Chris Bryant, was accused by the paper of flipping
his second home twice in two years.
Mr Bryant has described the allegations as unfounded and inaccurate.
The Telegraph says the Conservative MP for Totnes in Devon, Anthony
Steen, claimed thousands of pounds on his country home, including paying
a forestry expert to inspect his trees.
He reportedly told the paper he would be meeting party leader David
Cameron's scrutiny panel next week to discuss his claims, and would
repay any sum if asked to do so.
Other MPs featured in the Telegraph, which has obtained more than a
million receipts for MPs' claims, include:
• Liberal Democrat culture spokesman and Teignbridge MP Richard Younger-
Ross, who said he had repaid more than £4,000 claimed for mirrors, a hi-
fi, and a £1,475 chest of drawers for his rented London flat.
• Tory MP Nadine Dorries, who has vehemently rejected Daily Telegraph
allegations that she spent only free weekends and holidays in the
property she calls her main home.
• Former long-serving Labour MP Tam Dalyell who told the BBC he was
"entirely relaxed" about allegations in Saturday's Telegraph that he
attempted to claim £18,000 for bookcases, two months before retiring
from Parliament in 2005. Mr Dalyell said the Commons fees office
eventually paid about £7,800.
Angry constituents
After a week of stories alleging MPs misused their rights to allowances
and expenses, many have now returned to their constituencies to face
their voters in person.
On Wednesday a window was smashed at the offices of Bromsgrove
Conservative MP Julie Kirkbride, whose Tory MP husband was sacked by Mr
Cameron after his second home claim was questioned.
And a prankster carved a three-foot pound sign into MP Alan Duncan's
garden and filled it with flowers.
Meanwhile 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.
It is thought this was partly prompted by a number of complaints from
members of the public.
Political parties are trying to limit the damage caused by the
Telegraph's exposures.
The Guardian newspaper says proposals, expected to be agreed by Labour's
national executive next week, will see any of the party's MPs who are
found to make improper expenses claims deselected and barred from
standing at the next general election.
And on Friday, Tory leader Mr Cameron abandoned his party political
broadcast for the European Parliament Election, and instead broadcast an
apology over the expenses issues, which included a pledge to "sort it
out".
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.
Published: 2009/05/16 04:38:13 GMT
Posts
