Balls and Cooper to be quizzed over claims for London second home

Children's Secretary Ed Balls and Treasury Secretary Yvette Cooper were the subject of a complaint in February over claims they wrongly described their £655,000 property in Stoke Newington as a second home and so eligible for expenses claims.

Parliamentary standards commissioner John Lyon's office confirmed he had launched a probe. The couple could face difficult questions about their combined second- home expenses claims of up to £31,000.

The spotlight was shone on them today when a review panel on MPs' expenses and perks admitted that it had held back on a key part of its work because of the ongoing inquiry.

The Speaker's review said in future married and co-habiting MP couples should have special rules to stop them making double-value claims.

Mr Balls and Ms Cooper, both tipped as future Labour leaders, represent neighbouring constituencies in west Yorkshire and have homes in Castleford and north London.

The Commons rule book on expenses says: "If you have more than one home, your main home will normally be the one where you spend more nights than any other." Most ministers generally claim their London home as their main home because they spend less time in their constituency.

But Mr Balls and Ms Cooper described theirs as a second home, which critics said could have resulted in them making bigger claims from the public purse.

The couple, whose three children go to school in London, have said they feel their Yorkshire property is their main family residence. They deny breaking any rules.

A spokesman for the couple said they had "done everything in accordance with advice from the Fees Office, which has confirmed they have acted within the rules".

The Speaker's review is recommending that MPs of inner London constituencies receive a £4,584 rise, an inflation-busting seven per cent.

It is proposed that their £2,916 London allowance is increased to £7,500 - more than twice the £3,600 proposed by official salary reviewer Sir John Baker recently. Their basic salary is currently £61,820. The review said Westminster pay scales failed to recognise the cost of living in the capital and anti-social hours.

The £4,584 rise will go to MPs including Westminster's Mark Field, Vauxhall's Kate Hoey and Sir Malcolm Rifkind of Kensington and Chelsea. But some MPs said the rise was too steep at a time when most people are being told to keep their pay rises to two per cent.

For outer London MPs, the review proposed their right to claim £23,000 for a second home is abolished and replaced with an allowance to stay overnight in London of £10,000. The cut reflects the fact the Commons only sits late for two nights a week.

Among other major changes, MPs will no longer be allowed to dip into public money to buy furniture or renovate their second homes.

The proposals will be voted on next week.