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Tories pay back extra £125,000 as party gets tough on expenses
TORY MPs have repaid more than £250,000 in expenses after a party panel examined every claim.
The scrutiny panel found an extra 125,000 of claims that should be repaid, on top of the 130,000 which had already been returned to the House of Commons in the wake of the expenses scandal.
Haltemprice and Howden MP David Davis has repaid nearly 415 claimed for lawnmower maintenance, while Skipton and Ripon MP David Curry has returned 183 spent on putting up shelves.
The news came as Eric Illsley, Labour MP for Barnsley Central, said he had repaid 6,000 which he had overclaimed on council tax for four years because he had not needed to supply bills and had estimated how much he needed to pay.
He criticised the "barmy" expenses system and called for a flat rate allowance to be introduced to end controversy over MPs' claims.
MPs yesterday also bowed to public anger over the expenses scandal by agreeing not to ask taxpayers to stump up more cash for their pensions.
Shadow Commons leader Alan Duncan criticised the Government's handling of the pension situation. Ministers only backed down at the last minute from asking the taxpayer for a greater contribution.
Tory leader David Cameron said the expenses repayments by his MPs were an effort "to address the public's anger about what has happened". Shadow justice minister Eleanor Laing repaid 25,000 after she failed to pay capital gains tax when she sold her property.
Bill Cash agreed to repay the 15,000 second home allowance he controversially claimed to pay his daughter for renting her London flat, while Sir John Butterfill, who reportedly claimed for the upkeep of his servants' quarters, is to pay back a further 14,478. But repayments for several of the most controversial claims – including David Cameron's former aide Andrew MacKay who claimed for second homes allowance on a different property to his MP wife – will not be decided until further inquiries are completed.
Nine MPs, including former leader Iain Duncan Smith, have voluntarily agreed to forgo all or part of any future second home allowance claims which would have been worth an estimated 108,600.
Mr Davis said he was repaying 414.98 spent on servicing a lawnmower, although he said the claim had been within the rules. Mr Curry has repaid 183.13 which he spent on shelves and tools to put them up.
He said he had been quoted 700 by a workman to fit them, but decided he could do it himself for far cheaper to save taxpayers money.
"The irony is if I'd had it done by a carpenter and put in the bill and said it was for shelving nobody would have turned an eyelid," he said.
Meanwhile Mr Illsley is one of several MPs alleged to have overclaimed on council tax. Because MPs were not required to submit bills until recent rule changes, many estimated monthly payments and failed to reconcile the amounts at the end of the year.
Local Government Minister and Doncaster Central MP Rosie Winterton and Communities Minister Shahid Malik, MP for Dewsbury, are both currently studying their claims after it was alleged they too had overclaimed.
Mr Illsley, who said his mortgage interest claims had been consistently low and had never claimed for furniture, said either MPs' salaries should be raised and the second homes allowance abolished, or a flat rate living allowance should be introduced which is deemed adequate for them to meet the costs of a second property.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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