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Douglas Hogg today said he had not been asked to repay a penny of his expenses claims.
The Tory grandee, whose claims included the cost of moat cleaning, has been requested by auditor Sir Thomas Legg to provide further information to the inquiry into second home allowances.
Sir Thomas could still decide that Mr Hogg should repay some funds to the taxpayer after he imposed a £1,000-a-year limit on gardening claims and £2,000 for cleaning.
But the senior backbencher told the Standard: "I have not been asked to repay any money at all. All my expenses were approved in advance by the fees office and in writing. Sir Thomas has asked for information and I'm very happy to respond." Mr Hogg has agreed to repay £2,200 - the cost of cleaning the moat at his Lincolnshire mansion. He argued he had not specifically claimed for the moat but accepted it had not been "positively excluded".
His claims reportedly include £9,466-a-year towards a full-time housekeeper and £18,000 for gardening services over three years to 2008. One estimate put his possible repayment bill at £37,398.
Tory Sir John Gummer could face a bill of £32,000 from Sir Thomas, having been said to have claimed more than £36,000 over four years for gardening. He has already agreed to repay £11,538. Former foreign secretary Margaret Beckett reportedly submitted gardening bills over seven years totalling £10,969. It is not clear if she will be asked to repay any of the sum.
Reader views (5)
Hogg - says it all.
- Carl, London, 14/10/2009 12:12
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Surely it is the Tories who are lecturing us on the wise use of Tax-payers money who have been guilty of the worst scams. Moat cleaning, duck-houses, renting houses from Trusts after the mortgage has been paid off by the Tax-payer and Cameron manages to come out on top. It must be great to have an adoring Press.
- A Milne, Kensington England, 14/10/2009 10:56
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They couldn't sink any lower. They are the scum of the earth.
- R.F.York, Yorks, UK, 13/10/2009 11:27
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It is the House of Conmen "Fees Office" that needs putting in the dock.
Mealy-mouthed MP's sound like a gaggle of parrots - all saying that the expenses were "approved" by the Fees Office.
WHERE ARE THE POLICE?
WHERE ARE THE HANDCUFFS?
ONE LAW FOR JOE PUBLIC AND AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT LAW FOR MP's.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe Compound, EUSSR, 13/10/2009 09:44
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ALL those guilty of robbing the public purse blind for years should be sacked. WHO are they to lecture us on morals, like our so called P.M.
A COMPLETE SHOWER OF CROOKS - Zimbabwe anyone?????
- Ronreagan, aberdeen, 13/10/2009 09:43
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