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MPs' expenses claims are revealed | MPs' expenses claims are revealed |
(40 minutes later) | |
Commons speaker Michael Martin has released details of top MPs' expenses - including John Prescott's £4,000 food bill and a TV licence for Tony Blair. | |
All six of the MPs covered in the 2003/04 figures claimed mortgage interest payments on their second homes and five had their council tax paid. | |
The news follows a three-year Freedom of Information (FOI) battle by the BBC. | |
There is no suggestion that any of the claims were in breach of rules but they shed further light on MPs' spending. | |
Cleaning costs | Cleaning costs |
ADDITIONAL COSTS ALLOWANCES 2003/04 Michael Howard - £20,347John Prescott - £20,057Jonathan Sayeed - £18,618Tony Blair - £15,490Gordon Brown - £14,304 Charles Kennedy - £12,869Figures supplied by Commons Commission | ADDITIONAL COSTS ALLOWANCES 2003/04 Michael Howard - £20,347John Prescott - £20,057Jonathan Sayeed - £18,618Tony Blair - £15,490Gordon Brown - £14,304 Charles Kennedy - £12,869Figures supplied by Commons Commission |
Of the six MPs covered by the BBC request, Mr Howard spent the most on "additional costs" - including mortgages, utility bills, council tax, phone bills, cleaning, food and provisions and household repairs, claiming £20,347. | Of the six MPs covered by the BBC request, Mr Howard spent the most on "additional costs" - including mortgages, utility bills, council tax, phone bills, cleaning, food and provisions and household repairs, claiming £20,347. |
Mr Prescott, deputy prime minister until last year, was next on £20,057, followed by Conservative MP Jonathan Sayeed, who has since stood down, on £18,618. | |
Arguments | Arguments |
Mr Blair spent £15,490 and Mr Brown £14,304. | Mr Blair spent £15,490 and Mr Brown £14,304. |
Meanwhile, then Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy's £12,869 additional costs claim all went on mortgage interest payments. | |
Mr Prescott claimed the most on food and groceries of the six covered by the BBC's request - £4,000 - with Mr Blair the only other MP to claim under this category, for £174.41. | |
Under the rules, MPs can spend up to £400 a month on groceries. | Under the rules, MPs can spend up to £400 a month on groceries. |
Mr Blair, prime minister from 1997 until last year, had a £116 for TV licence paid. | Mr Blair, prime minister from 1997 until last year, had a £116 for TV licence paid. |
The figures supplied also include office costs, travel and telephone expenses. | |
In 2003/04, the maximum amount MPs could claim for on Additional Cost Allowance, for running a second home was £20.902. It is currently £23,083. | |
The BBC originally made its FOI request in 2005. | |
But the House of Commons Commission argued that, a detailed breakdown of expenses could expose MPs to a security risk. | |
However, in January this year the information commissioner ruled that some of the details should be published. | |
Second request | Second request |
Following a separate FOI request by campaigner Heather Brooke, the House of Commons Commission has also released details of the second home costs of nine senior politicians from 2005/06. | Following a separate FOI request by campaigner Heather Brooke, the House of Commons Commission has also released details of the second home costs of nine senior politicians from 2005/06. |
ADDITIONAL COSTS ALLOWANCES 2005/06 George Osborne - £21,533Margaret Beckett - £21,415David Cameron - £21,359Mark Oaten - £21,178William Hague - £20,071Gordon Brown - £18,681John Prescott - £12,825Sir Menzies Campbell - £11,611Tony Blair - £8,398.68Figures supplied by Commons Commission | |
Conservative leader David Cameron claimed nearly all of his permitted allowance in mortgage interest/rent payments - £21,293 - and did not claim for other items such as council tax, food, cleaning or repairs, the figures show. | Conservative leader David Cameron claimed nearly all of his permitted allowance in mortgage interest/rent payments - £21,293 - and did not claim for other items such as council tax, food, cleaning or repairs, the figures show. |
Sir Menzies Campbell, then Lib Dem leader, claimed the most for food of the nine MPs that year - £3,700, with John Prescott claiming just over half the amount he did two years earlier - £2,300. | Sir Menzies Campbell, then Lib Dem leader, claimed the most for food of the nine MPs that year - £3,700, with John Prescott claiming just over half the amount he did two years earlier - £2,300. |
Ms Brooke faces a High Court battle to get a more detailed receipt by receipt breakdown of the costs after the Commons rejected a request by the information commissioner to release them. | Ms Brooke faces a High Court battle to get a more detailed receipt by receipt breakdown of the costs after the Commons rejected a request by the information commissioner to release them. |
The Commons authorities claim releasing details of travel routes and addresses could compromise MPs' security. | The Commons authorities claim releasing details of travel routes and addresses could compromise MPs' security. |
Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, which campaigns for lower taxes, said: "This is the first step towards real parliamentary transparency, but there is still a long way to go." | Matthew Elliott, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, which campaigns for lower taxes, said: "This is the first step towards real parliamentary transparency, but there is still a long way to go." |
But Labour MP Ann Cryer said the pursuit of expenses details by journalists was "becoming a witch hunt" and politicians were "all being tarred with the same brush". | But Labour MP Ann Cryer said the pursuit of expenses details by journalists was "becoming a witch hunt" and politicians were "all being tarred with the same brush". |
She told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "We are all assumed to be wrong 'uns." | She told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "We are all assumed to be wrong 'uns." |
But Liberal Democrat transport spokesman and anti-sleaze campaigner Norman Baker said: "This is public money we are talking about and we have to be accountable for it." | But Liberal Democrat transport spokesman and anti-sleaze campaigner Norman Baker said: "This is public money we are talking about and we have to be accountable for it." |