MP repayments 'will be below £1m'

Sir Paul Kennedy will reject the principle of introducing retrospective rules and limits on claims for items such as gardening and cleaning, according to a source close to the inquiry.

A large proportion of the 80 MPs who appealed against the independent auditor's findings have apparently had repayments overturned or reduced.

"Many others will now be regretting that they did not fight," the source added.

Sir Paul, a former appeal court judge, is understood to have written a foreword to his section of the report in which he rejects retrospective rules in principle. The text is said to contrast sharply with the foreword written by Sir Thomas. They are due to be published together by the House authorities today, alongside a list of MPs who have handed back money since the scandal broke last spring.

Commons sources expect the final figure for repayments to be well below 1m – less than the bill for Sir Thomas's work.