David Chaytor has become the second Labour MP to admit claiming thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money for interest on a non-existent mortgage, it emerged last night.
The MP for Bury North will pay back £13,000 claimed on expenses after telling The Daily Telegraph that he had made an “unforgivable error” by continuing to submit monthly claims for £1,175 for months after the loan was paid off.
He is likely to receive the same treatment as Elliot Morley, a former minister, who has been suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party after admitting claiming £16,000 for a non-existent mortgage. Lawyers have said that there is a good case for a criminal investigation.
Mr Chaytor is also alleged to have changed his designation of his second home four times since 2004, allowing him to claim expenses on five properties. He blamed “changing and complex family circumstances” for the multiple moves, and said that “family stress” had prevented him from paying attention to his financial affairs.
Sir Gerald Kaufman, a former Labour minister, was reported to have charged £1,851 for an antique rug imported from New York. The MP for Manchester Gorton allegedly submitted a claim for £8,865 for a television, and was paid £15,329 of a £28,834 bill for improvements to a London flat after telling Commons authorities he was “living in a slum”.
Tam Dalyell, who retired as an MP in 2005, submitted a claim for £18,000 for bookcases two months before retiring as an MP in 2005. He said last night that he was “extremely relaxed” about his claims.
Gordon Brown required his Justice Minister to step down yesterday after an investigation of his expenses disclosed he may have breached the ministerial code. Shahid Malik became the latest casualty of the week-long revelations after it appeared that he had failed to declare that he was benefiting from a subsidised rent. Mr Malik has moved aside from his post pending an inquiry by Sir Philip Mawer, the ministerial watchdog. Mr Brown has asked Sir Philip, his official adviser on ministerial interests, to investigate the claims as quickly as possible.
David Cameron, the Conservative leader, said that MPs from all parties had made unjustifiable expenses claims and politicians must display leadership for Parliament to regain the trust of the people.
Mr Brown’s spokesman emphasised that Mr Malik was expected to return to office if he was cleared and said that no replacement was being appointed. There is no suggestion that Mr Malik broke parliamentary rules on expenses but it is his conduct as a minister that is under scrutiny. He was alleged to have claimed the maximum amount allowable — £66,827 over three years — on his second home in London but obtained a discounted rent of £100 a week on his main family home in his Dewsbury constituency, which he paid out of his own pocket.
Mr Malik has described the claim about his rent as a “fabrication”. But Mr Brown’s spokesman said that it had to be investigated because, if true, it would represent a “potential financial benefit” that had not been part of Mr Malik’s ministerial declaration and “this could represent a breach of the ministerial code”. The allegation comes amid a rising tide of public anger at MPs from all parties, with the former police chief Ray Mallon, now the Independent Mayor of Middlesbrough, making a formal complaint to the Metropolitan Police.
Senior Scotland Yard officers and prosecutors will meet next week to decide what action to take. Officials will assess whether criminal inquiries are necessary after a surge in the number of complaints from the public. Sir Paul Stephenson, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, and Keir Starmer, QC, the Director of Public Prosecutions, decided to establish the panel.
Momentum is growing for MPs to make public details of their expenses immediately, rather than wait for the parliamentary authorities in July. Frank Field, the Labour MP for Birkenhead, published his expenses for 2007-2008 and called on other MPs to follow suit.
The Conservative website has begun publishing details of claims made by frontbenchers. Yesterday the website showed that Mr Cameron had claimed £1,081 in mortgage interest on his constituency home in West Oxfordshire on May 12, as well as £211 for council tax and a £170 fuel bill.
In Westminster, Michael Martin was struggling to hang on to his position as Speaker after the Tory leadership said there was “a problem” with his staying in the job. William Hague, Mr Cameron’s second in command, has become the most senior Tory to voice concern. Asked if there was a problem of confidence in Mr Martin, Mr Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, told the BBC Today programme: “There certainly is a problem. Any MP has to acknowledge that.”
His comments come after Liberal Democrats effectively withdrew their support from Mr Martin this week.MPs led by Douglas Carswell , a Conservative backbencher, will put down a motion on Monday calling for the Speaker to go.
Source:The times
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