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MPs’ bid to avoid paying back expenses boosted by Legg error
Paul Waugh and Joe Murphy21 Oct 2009
Moves to force MPs to payback misclaimed expenses suffered a major blow today as auditor Sir Thomas Legg admitted he had blundered over bills owed by top Tory Kenneth Clarke.
In a hugely embarrassing admission, Sir Thomas offered an “unreserved apology” to the shadow business secretary for wrongly demanding he pay back more than £4,000 for cleaning and gardening.
The former civil service chief, who has been put in charge of a review of all MPs' expenses by Gordon Brown, wrote to Mr Clarke to admit that he owed only £1,345. The error occurred because Sir Thomas's team had dealt with duplicated files and wrongly calculated the amounts involved.
The Standard has learned that he has now written to Mr Clarke, a former Chancellor, to apologise.
MPs are sure to seize on the blunder as proof that the Legg review is flawed and has unfairly tarnished the reputations of those who claimed in accordance with the rules in force at the time.
MPs of all parties are keen for Commons authorities to rein in Sir Thomas's retrospective caps for gardening and cleaning bills.
Mr Clarke faced the biggest “payback” demand of any member of David Cameron's shadow cabinet and had already made clear he would fight to clear his name. Sources close to Mr Clarke stressed that he had no objection to the review itself.
Other MPs, including Labour backbencher Frank Field, have slated Sir Thomas for demanding £7,000 in housekeeping claims. One Cabinet minister, John Denham, expressed his irritation earlier this week at a demand for more than £1,000 for claims for two armchairs and mortgage interest.
Other senior figures are privately furious about the demands they have received but feel that to refuse to pay up will make matters worse.
Both David Cameron and Gordon Brown have suggested that those MPs who refuse to comply with payback requests will not be allowed to stand at the next election.
Sir Thomas's error will fuel claims that the whole review lacks credibility and that many of the mistakes are down to the Commons Fees Office rather than MPs themselves.
Reader views (4)
Any UK Voter has the right to Legal Aid and can Sue any MP under the 2006 Fraud Act in order to reclaim Taxpayers Funds. Parliamentary privileges in the United Kingdom only allows members of the House of Lords and House of Commons to speak freely before those houses without fear of legal action on the grounds of slander. It also means that members of Parliament cannot be arrested on civil matters inside the grounds of the Palace of Westminster,(but can be arrested outside). MPs can be arrested for Fraud ect., there is NO IMMUNITY
if Police bring Criminal charges.
- Frank, Bristol, 22/10/2009 00:10
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To allow those who refuse to pay back the money they have misappropriated is further insult to tax payers and is completely unacceptable. They must be SACKED - with no resettlement grants. All those who have claimed for non existent mortgages, non-essential second homes, "main" homes in spare bedrooms, etc. must be brought before the courts. Justice must not just be done - it must be seen to be done.
- R.F.York, Yorks, UK, 21/10/2009 15:22
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The Big Scam,the whole investigation is a set up by MPs.So far no even 1/1000 of the money stolen has been paid back.We need a court appointed person to investigate with the power to have those found guilty arrested on the spot.How dare Brown appoint someone to investigate,its the same as a Bank robber appointing someone to see if he and his gang are guilty.What a Hoax.
- Dave, london, 21/10/2009 14:40
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Since when does the exception make the rule? With the sheer number of claims involved, there's bound to be the odd mistake. It was cleared up, so move on. Simple. Those with excessive claims still haven't a leg to stand on for all of their bleating.
- Rogan, Irving, 21/10/2009 14:25
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