Brown tries to ease worries over ‘clock-in’ payout for MPs

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David Cameron and Nick Clegg met the Prime Minister today to warn of their serious doubts about his proposal to pay MPs an allowance for turning up to work.

The Tory and Lib-Dem leaders are worried the system could be open to abuse and more expensive for the taxpayer than the second home allowance it would replace.

Mr Brown is expected to cap the number of days the "clocking in" allowance could be claimed. Even if Parliament sits for 150 days a year, MPs would not be eligible to claim for every day they attend.

With a "reasonable" daily rate, the taxpayer would pay less for the Westminster system, insiders say.

The assurance follows fears that many MPs would get a pay boost. Government whips have said the daily rate would be £140, meaning MPs could claim £21,000 a year — even though they claim an average of £19,400 on second homes.

Senior Labour backbencher Michael Connarty said MPs were being punished for ministers' abuse of second home allowance.