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| Health minister to repay £41,709 | |
| (41 minutes later) | |
| Health minister Phil Hope is to repay £41,709 in second home allowances following media revelations. | Health minister Phil Hope is to repay £41,709 in second home allowances following media revelations. |
| The Corby MP said he had kept to the rules but stories about his expenses had caused a "massive blow" to his integrity and standing with voters. | The Corby MP said he had kept to the rules but stories about his expenses had caused a "massive blow" to his integrity and standing with voters. |
| He said: "This issue has fundamentally changed the view people have of me and that is something I cannot bear." | He said: "This issue has fundamentally changed the view people have of me and that is something I cannot bear." |
| It is the biggest amount an MP has paid back as all parties attempt to repair the damage to their reputation. | It is the biggest amount an MP has paid back as all parties attempt to repair the damage to their reputation. |
| A string of Conservative frontbenchers, including leader David Cameron, have agreed to pay back excessive expenses claims following a series of revelations in The Daily Telegraph. | A string of Conservative frontbenchers, including leader David Cameron, have agreed to pay back excessive expenses claims following a series of revelations in The Daily Telegraph. |
| Mr Hope's Labour colleague, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, is to pay £13,332 in respect of capital gains tax on the sale of her second home. | Mr Hope's Labour colleague, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, is to pay £13,332 in respect of capital gains tax on the sale of her second home. |
| 'Badly hurt' | 'Badly hurt' |
| Labour MP for Luton, Margaret Moran, is to pay back £22,500 she spent on treating dry rot at a property in Southampton. | Labour MP for Luton, Margaret Moran, is to pay back £22,500 she spent on treating dry rot at a property in Southampton. |
| Mr Hope, who has a majority of 1,517 in his Northamptonshire seat, said: "The anger of my constituents and the damage done to perceptions of my integrity concerning the money I have received to make my London accommodation habitable has been a massive blow to me that I cannot allow to continue. | Mr Hope, who has a majority of 1,517 in his Northamptonshire seat, said: "The anger of my constituents and the damage done to perceptions of my integrity concerning the money I have received to make my London accommodation habitable has been a massive blow to me that I cannot allow to continue. |
| I have decided to try to restore the trust and relationships I have with my constituents Phil Hope, Labour MP Expenses claims focus on Lib Dems Blears will pay tax on flat sale Key details: MP expenses claims | |
| "I have worked very hard over the last twelve years to represent and fight for my constituents and their opinion of me as a person matters hugely to both myself and my wife Allison. | "I have worked very hard over the last twelve years to represent and fight for my constituents and their opinion of me as a person matters hugely to both myself and my wife Allison. |
| "We feel very badly hurt by what has happened and although I kept to the rules laid down by Parliament I cannot allow this dreadful perception about what I claimed in allowances to continue. | "We feel very badly hurt by what has happened and although I kept to the rules laid down by Parliament I cannot allow this dreadful perception about what I claimed in allowances to continue. |
| "Whatever the right and wrongs of the allowance system this issue has fundamentally changed the view people have of me and that is something I cannot bear." | "Whatever the right and wrongs of the allowance system this issue has fundamentally changed the view people have of me and that is something I cannot bear." |
| He told the BBC News Channel he had decided to pay the money back after discussing it with his wife. | |
| He said "it is very difficult to find that kind of money" but he wanted to restore trust that had been "badly damaged". | |
| 'Modest' flat | |
| He said: "The important thing for me is not so much the money but how people view what I am, who I am, as a politician and in my constituency the cynicism and the anger that is there is something that I can't bear." | |
| The 54-year-old former teacher entered Parliament in Labour's 1997 landslide in a previously Conservative seat and held a string of junior ministerial positions before becoming care services minister. He is also minister for the East Midlands. | The 54-year-old former teacher entered Parliament in Labour's 1997 landslide in a previously Conservative seat and held a string of junior ministerial positions before becoming care services minister. He is also minister for the East Midlands. |
| Among items he claimed for, according to the Daily Telegraph which has been publishing leaked details of MPs expenses, were a new kitchen, seven doors, wooden flooring, bedroom furniture, chairs and tables, two bookcases and a television. | |
| A £120 barbecue and £61 for gardening materials, despite rules stating that MPs can only claim for garden maintenance, were also included for what was said to be a "modest" two-bedroom flat in south London. | |
| Explaining his decision to repay the money, he said: "I have decided to try to restore the trust and relationships I have with my constituents. | |
| "I am returning all of the money that I have claimed for fittings, furniture and household items that I received over a five year period - the sum of £41,709." | |
| Labour backbencher Mark Lazarowicz has said he will repay £2,675 of his expenses claims for legal and professional fees because they were "much higher than many of the public would be prepared to accept". | |
| The sum is half of what the Edinburgh North and Leith MP claimed for the fees in connection with his London flat. |