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Millionaire Tory MP Brian Binley faces action over £57k expense claim
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor17 Jun 2009
A millionaire Tory MP is facing disciplinary action by David Cameron after it emerged that he claimed £57,000 from the taxpayer to rent a flat from his own company.
Northampton South MP Brian Binley claimed £1,500 a month to rent the flat in Pimlico for more than three years despite House of Commons rules banning MPs from renting properties from themselves or their companies.
Mr Binley failed to inform Mr Cameron's scrutiny panel of the arrangement and senior Tory sources told the Standard today that the backbencher would now be ordered to submit his claims for re-examination.
“We will be looking at this very, very closely. We have always said that we want to be fair but where there are problems David is determined to be very firm” a source said.
The MPs expenses scandal is set to reopen tomorrow when Parliament finally publishes receipts for all 646 MPs. But MPs' addresses, which have exposed abuses of the system, will be kept secret.
Yesterday, the affair claimed yet another victim after Labour MP Jim Devine was deselected by the party's “star chamber” endorsements panel. He had submitted invoices for electrical work worth £2,157 from a company with a fake address and invalid VAT number.
Mr Devine had also faced questions over a £2,326 claim for shelving work said to have been carried out by the landlord of his local pub.
Mr Cameron is now under intense pressure to show similarly tough response to Mr Binley, who was first elected in 2005. To date, Mr Cameron has ordered some MPs to pay money back but only long-serving backbenchers have been forced to quit their seats.
Land Registry records show Mr Binley's £345,000 flat was owned by a company called BCC Marketing, of which he is the chairman and founder.
The Daily Telegraph revealed that Commons officials warned the MP in April 2006 that his claims were a breach of new rules. But he was allowed to continue claiming after appealing to Commons Speaker Michael Martin.
Mr Martin only ruled in April this year that the claims must stop but Mr Binley has not be told to repay the £57,000 claimed under the discredited second homes allowance for MPs.
Had Mr Binley bought the flat himself, he would only have been able to claim the interest on the mortgage.
Mr Binley, 67, insisted today that he had acted with honesty. In what the BBC called “sometimes strong and colourful language”, Mr Binley said he would not allow the Telegraph to “bring him down”.
He added that he had since moved into another flat nearby, but he was having to claim an extra £2,000 or £3,000 in expenses to pay a market rate.
“I did rent a flat...from a company that I founded. The rent charged included council tax, water rates, electricity, gas and all the furnishings and white goods in the flat,” he said.
“When the mortgage was taken out, it was totally cleared by the Fees Office and when the rules were changed which stated that I could not rent from a company that I had an interest in, I appealed that decision. I sadly lost that appeal, accepted the decision and found another flat which unfortunately costs the taxpayer more money because that is the going rate.”
Reader views (39)
I listened today to Mr Binley on radio 5 live . The man does not seem to know right from wrong . He just could not grasp the fact that he had commited a crime that would have sent a member of the general public to court. Perhaps if these crooks faced a court appearence ,then the public would feel that they ,MP's are not above the law of the land .
- Anthony Coxon, wolverhampton England, 17/06/2009 22:17
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How come he is still an MP?
Because Cameron is to weak to do anything about it I suppose.
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex, 17/06/2009 19:34
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Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain
That'll be the same decisive action your dear Gordon Brown has taken with his front bench - Darling, Smith (who he should have pushed before she resigned, McNulty, and himself of course (don't forget his cleaning bill payed to his brither and the claim for expenses when living in Nos 11 & 10.
I can understand why you're so aligned to Gordon and his cronies Val, you have the same philosophy - Hypocrisy!!
- Malcolm, London, 17/06/2009 16:42
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Give Binley a new front door for his home and let him carry it our as he goes. Instead of giving expenses fiddlers the Sack they can be shown the front door. Keep one on display in your office David as a warning. I'll get one for you from B&Q out of my own pocket so you are safe from any scandal. May even create a new Honour. Getting the Order of the Front Door.
- Albert Hall, hove england, 17/06/2009 15:47
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Why not sentence him for fraud? If Joe Public carried out such claims he would be sentenced and imprisoned. So why the double standards from the Police?
Signed Carl Barron Chairman of agpcuk
- Carl Barron, Christchurch, Dorset, 17/06/2009 15:14
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#Dave Davies
You cannot be serious, what decisive action? Do you mean the same decisive action he has shown towards Alan Duncan, Michael Gove, George Osborne, Andrew Lansley, Oliver Letwin, Caroline Spelman, Francis Maud et al, oh, and himself, too, of course.
- Val Daniels, Mijas Costa, Spain, 17/06/2009 15:13
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Prosecute them all for stealing! If it was any anyone else in a normal job and they were using company money for personal use they would be fired and / or prosecuted. Time for a change in British politics and I hope everyone stands up and makes a stand against the thieving main parties.
- Dirk Diggler, Soho, London, 17/06/2009 14:50
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People must vote to ensure the Brown and Co get thrown out. However, if this sort of thing continues which seems to be rampant across all parties, then a minority group WILL get into power. Whose fault will it be but their own! I'm actually gobsmacked with everything that's gone on the past six months that the people of this country are still so complacent and aren't actually rioting in the streets by now.
- Sue, Orpington, Kent, 17/06/2009 14:30
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Maybe the time has come for an extra box on the voting slip that simply states NONE OF THE ABOVE.
- Shallotman, Basildon, 17/06/2009 14:26
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I guess some MP's think they are Untouchable and have some kind of Diplomatic Immunity!...MP's like Cabinet Ministers should have a shelf Life ( 2 Terms)so they can't lined there pockets forever at the Taxpayers Expense...This will weed out the "Takers" and make room for the "Givers"....
- Justice, London, 17/06/2009 14:00
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You see it's the market. Let everyone seeks his personal gain and somehow wealth will be created and distributed to the most deserving. You and I create the wealth but Tory businessmen apparently deserve the wealth so we redistribute it. Simples!!
- Richard, Cheltenham, 17/06/2009 13:49
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The reason Tory Millionaire MP's behave like this is that they spend their time socialiasing with Bankers and Financiers who feel that they have an entitlement to a gilded lifestyle. Thus the selfishness, greed and couldn't give a damn about public opinion attitude leads them to take the Taxpayer for every penny they can extract. We're already paying for gormless and greedy Bankers bonuses foe causing disasters so Tory MP's think me too.
- B Madeoff, Queens Park England, 17/06/2009 13:21
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Are there any MP's who have actually made a measured difference to Society or are they all in Politics for the wrong reasons?...Lets see a Table of Squeaky Clean MP's or does not one exist?
- Justice, London, 17/06/2009 13:10
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Probably the reason he is a millionaire is due to his dishonesty & spending tex payers cash. Sack him, make him pay it back (he can afford to), then arrest him. Both Labour & the Tories have had their share of expense fiddlers, but the rich Tories seem to be the worse culprits.
- Dom, London, 17/06/2009 12:52
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Another tory millionaire who feels it is okay to rip us off. Problem is what can Cameron do when he has done exactly the same thing and we STILL pay his mortgage, water, gas and electricity bills. If I had thirty million in the bank I would feel embarrassed to even think about claiming for anything but obviously "hug a hoodie" doesn't!
- Ken Clark, essex uk, 17/06/2009 12:52
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Corruption is widespread in British politics and always has been with the ongoing perpetuated class system. Due to deference, we are not expected to question the actions of our "betters".
T H Leeds
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK, 17/06/2009 12:41
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Sack him, Dave.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one, 17/06/2009 12:23
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How can I join this CLUB ? It sounds to good to be true. Money for nothing, all you can eat !
- A.Txpayer, London, 17/06/2009 12:15
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The reason Cameron has sacked more MP's is simple. He has more millionaires who see Tax-Payers money from expenses as a Business Opportunity. If he sacked all of those who have fiddled their expenses he wouldn't have a Shadow Cabinet left.
- E Thrip, Harlesden England, 17/06/2009 12:02
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How is it that Cameron did not know what was going on? One of my work colleagues who became a Tory MP liked to boast in Public about all of the things he could claim for. I thought the purpose of the Whip's Office was to be aware of what was going on and to report back to the Leader.
- Ttaylor, Hammersmith England, 17/06/2009 11:48
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So if a member of the public, or the Evening Standard (go on!!), reports him to the police for fraud, will they have to investigate?
- D.W., London, 17/06/2009 11:42
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One wonders whether Tory M.P.'s have any understanding of the difference between right and wrong. Presumably when Mr Binley moved out of his flat to claim for one he didn't own he let the original flat. I just wonder how Dave comes out of this so well when it is Tory Millionaires who seem to have been the most greedy MP's.
- T Thomas, Heston England, 17/06/2009 11:27
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Cameron should sack him immediately, "pour encourager les autres" and have a local election to see if he really has the ability to win a general election. Sadly this won't happen mainly because it would decimate the current crop of MPs and they are hoping that over time the voters will forget. So come the general election it will be up to the electorate to throw out those MPs of all parties who have filled their boots at taxpayers' expense.
- Trevor Mcwilde, Chelmsford, 17/06/2009 11:18
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Dave - I would hardly call discipline decisive action when the police should be brought in to fully investigate. Discipline will be a suspension for a few weeks and then return to the job in a few months when it's off the headlines - As has happened with Malik
- Trudy, London, 17/06/2009 10:47
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The only way Cameron stands a chance at the election is if he is seen to act robustly to stamp this dishonesty out and stop taking the British public for mugs hich is what these (literally)fat cats are doing
- David, SOUTHAMPTON, 17/06/2009 10:45
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This is FRAUD fullstop. £57k is what most people earn in 3 years, nevermind pay in rent to a fake company who will pay off the morgage for you in turn(?). FRAUD is white collar offense punishable by law, this guy shouldn't be getting a wrapping over the knuckles by his buddy, he deserves time in jail - just the same way the rest of us would get if we syphoned off money from our employers.
- Claudia, Oxford, UK, 17/06/2009 10:43
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THE 2006 FRAUD ACT "Fraud by false representation" is defined by Section 2 of the Act as a case where a person makes "any representation as to fact or law ... express or implied" which they know to be untrue or misleading.
"Fraud by failing to disclose information" is defined by Section 3 of the Act as a case where a person fails to disclose any information to a third party when they are under a legal duty to disclose such information.
"Fraud by abuse of position" is defined by Section 4 of the Act as a case where a person occupies a position where they are expected to safeguard the financial interests of another person, and abuses that position; this includes cases where the abuse consisted of an omission rather than an overt act.
In all three classes of fraud, it requires that for an offence to have occurred, the person must have acted dishonestly, and that they had to have acted with the INTENT OF MAKING A GAIN for themselves or anyone else.
- Frank, Bristol UK, 17/06/2009 10:20
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The lady who has a bath plug on expenses should give it to the leaders of both parties to stop the money going down the plug hole of ineptitude and weak leadership.
- Ernie Ball, uk, 17/06/2009 10:19
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When are HM Revenue and Customs going to stop sitting on their hands and start to do their job sorting out this avoidance and evasion?
- John, Stockport, England., 17/06/2009 10:12
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over the last 2 months i have said through this site that 1,cameron would not censure his front benches 2,the fuss would die down and all parts would give a sigh of relief 3,to a certain extent business as usuall 4,michael martin is to be elevated to the lords 5,plod would not arrest any mp. parliment has and is still showing utter contemp for the electorate.putting it bluntly,only civil disorder and a few hangings from the street lights may wake these corrupt people think.but i doubt it
- Mikee, peterborough uk, 17/06/2009 09:52
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Cameron needs to make an example of this fat thief.
- St, London, 17/06/2009 09:43
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Isn't it about time that MP's realised that one of their primary duties is to uphold moral standards rather than use their position for personal gain? Compare this situation to those who have honestly worked and paid National Insurance Fund cntributions only to find that when they retired they their state pensions were not uprated, despite the fact that the National Insurance Fund is 50 billion pounds in surplus. I am not referring to those living in the EU and countries such as the USA and Israel who do have their pensions increased each 6 April. I am referring to those people who paid contributions to the National Insurance Fund who are now retirees in countries such as Australia and Canada who are still on the same pension rate prevailing when they first retired. Why do successive Governments deny them the same terms as those in uprated countries? If it is to save money then look elsewhere to expenditure from current taxation such as MP's expenses. Don't deny those who have paid National Insurance contributions what is rightfully theirs. Is there any sense of fairness and decency left in politics?
- Richard Lane, Kariong, NSW, Australia, 17/06/2009 09:41
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The gravy train rolls on.
- Shallotman, Basildon, 17/06/2009 09:37
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How is the Devine claim using bogus supplier details not fraud??
- Ant, egham, 17/06/2009 09:36
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If an unemployed benefit cheat claimed £57,000 through false pretences their feet would not touch the floor. THEY WOULD BE ARRESTED, FINGERPRINTED, DNA'd, PHOTOGRAPHED, CHARGED, PUT IN COURT AND THROWN INTO THE NEAREST PRISON CELL.
ONLY if you are a MILLIONAIRE MP are you guaranteed to get away with this deception/fraud.
ONE LAW FOR JOE PUBLIC AND A DIFFERENT LAW FOR MP's.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe, Lancashire, 17/06/2009 09:34
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More importantly, when exactly is Cameron going to sort out i.e. sack his "front bench flippers", Osborne, Lansley and Gove? So much for his so-called "leadership" on this question.
- Robert C, London UK, 17/06/2009 09:27
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Good. Decisive action is what the country wants, and the Tories are giving it to them - Unlike the Labour shower.
- Dave Davies, Basingstoke, Hants, 17/06/2009 09:07
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And spineless Cameron should ditch this bunch of morally bankrupt cronies, I can now see why Stuart Wheeler previously a huge Tory benefactor has stopped giving to them.
- Bob, Cheam, 17/06/2009 08:42
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Fire these petty crooks NOW - don't wait for them to 'stand down' at the next election, knowing they don't have a chance in hell of ever getting elected again.
- Marianne, SW France/London, 17/06/2009 08:26
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