The Daily Telegraph has published expenses claims made by senior MPs under the controversial second homes allowance. It is the latest development in a long-running row over the much-criticised system.
The Daily Telegraph has published expenses claims made by Cabinet ministers, shadow ministers and backbench MPs from all parties under the terms of the controversial second homes allowance.
It is the latest development in a long-running row over the much-criticised system.
WHAT HAS BEEN REVEALED?
Each day for the past week, the Daily Telegraph has published extensive details of expense claims made by MPs over the past four years under the controversial second homes allowance. It began with government ministers, before going on to reveal details of the spending habits of leading Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs and backbenchers. The claims have ranged from the relatively trivial - such as loo seats and trouser presses - to major home improvements and expensive electrical goods such as TVs, DVDs and coffee makers. Each of the major party leaders - Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg - has had their expenses splashed across the newspaper's pages.
WHY WAS THE INFORMATION SECRET?
Parliament has never published details of how much MPs claim back on expenses. But that was about to change after it lost a long-running court battle with Freedom of Information campaigners. The Daily Telegraph obtained the details early.
WHAT DO THE MPs SAY?
They say they were acting within the rules and in some cases were encouraged to spend up to the maximum allowed - about £20,000 a year - by the Commons fees office. But they say the system is in urgent need of reform.
WHAT DOES THE TELEGRAPH SAY?
WHAT DOES THE TELEGRAPH SAY?
The newspaper has published what is says are claims made by cabinet and junior ministers under the most controversial type of MPs' expense - the second homes allowance. The suggestion that Tory MP Greg Barker made £320,000 on a flat he bought at taxpayers' expense was the first claim about an opposition MP published by the Telegraph. It says it will reveal more claims by the other parties in the days ahead. Among those flagged up are Gordon Brown's £6,577 cleaning bill over 26 months which were paid to his brother - Downing Street says they shared a cleaner and it was to reimburse him for costs. As well as publishing the details of the ministers' claims, the newspaper says it has uncovered evidence of how some MPs "work the system" and maximise their claims. The newspaper has not confirmed whether it paid for the information. class="bodl" href="/1/hi/uk_politics/8039273.stm">Leading politicians' claims and reactions
It claims there has been widespread abuse of the second homes allowance - which reimburses MPs with constituencies outside London. Some MPs have been maximising their financial gain by regularly "flipping" their designated second home, the newspaper alleges. This has allowed them to claim back the cost of renovating properties, which they have then sold off at a profit. Some MPs have also been accused of avoiding capital gains tax on home sales and of over-claiming for mortgage payments and other expenses.
Immigration minister Phil Woolas has disputed any of the newspaper's allegations about him. He says he is seeking legal advice over suggestions he claimed for nappies and women's clothing. There have been suggestions their publication was politically motivated. The Telegraph has so far dedicated 20 pages to its investigation. Lord Mandelson said: "Let's wait and see whether [claims about] the Conservatives, who this paper supports, [are given] quite the same prominence." Margaret Moran, Labour's Luton South MP, told the BBC the paper's report was "inaccurate" and "probably actionable". Labour MP Sir Stuart Bell has criticised the newspaper for "chequebook journalism".
WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT ON THE GOVERNMENT?
WHERE DID THE INFORMATION COME FROM?
Labour's opinion poll ratings have sunk to their lowest level ever in the wake of the scandal.
Commons officials have been putting all MPs' claims, backed by millions of receipts, together to be published in full in July. They were forced to act after losing a long Freedom of Information battle with campaigners and being ordered to publish by the High Court. The Telegraph has not commented on how it got hold of the information early. It says it acted in the public interest and many of the details would not have come to light in July - for example claims that MPs switched their "second home" designation to be able to claim for two properties - as addresses would have been blanked out before publication.
ANY RESIGNATIONS?
ARE THE POLICE INVESTIGATING THE LEAK?
Justice minister Shahid Malik has stepped down pending an inquiry by into whether his failure to declare a preferential rent deal on his constituency home broke the ministerial code. Former Agriculture Minister Elliot Morley has been suspended by the Parliamentary Labour Party pending an investigation into his expense claims by the parliamentary standards commissioner and has lost his job as Gordon Brown's climate change envoy. Mr Morley claimed for £16,000 towards mortgage interest costs even though he had paid his mortgage off 18 months before. Mr Morley blamed "sloppy accounting" and has apologised.
Not yet. But the Commons authorities, which had been compiling the expenses details for them to be processed by an outside contractor, has asked the police to investigate. Police say they are "considering" that request. The Commons says there are "reasonable grounds to believe a criminal offence may have been committed". The BBC understands that could include theft, a breach of the Official Secrets Act or data protection rules.
WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER PARTIES?
AREN'T MPs REFORMING THEIR EXPENSES?
Andrew MacKay, a Parliamentary aide to Conservative leader David Cameron, has quit his post after the party ruled his second home claims were "unacceptable". Mr MacKay and his wife Julie Kirkbride, who is also a Tory MP, had been claiming second home allowances on two properties.
Attempts to reform MPs' expenses have been going on for over a year. Following recent headlines about ministers' claims the issue was referred to an independent body - the Committee on Standards in Public Life - which was expected to come forward with proposals by the end of the year. In April Gordon Brown came up with his own plan, saying interim changes must be made more quickly, but had to drop a key proposal for a daily attendance allowance, amid widespread opposition from the Conservatives, Lib Dems and some Labour MPs. However, some changes were voted through - including stopping MPs representing Greater London constituencies claiming for a second home, requiring receipts for all claims - rather than just those over £25 - and more details of second jobs.
HAVE ANY MPs PAID THE MONEY BACK?
WHAT WAS WRONG WITH A DAILY ALLOWANCE?
Yes. MPs from all parties are falling over themselves to write cheques, although none have admitted breaking the rules. So far more than £120,000 has been returned to Parliament.
Both the Tory and Lib Dem leaders made clear they would not support Gordon Brown's plan, arguing it would be worse than the old system. This required receipts while an attendance allowance, they say, would amount to a "cheque for turning up to work". Many Labour MPs are believed to have been opposed to it and there was some anger at the way it had been announced - on the Downing Street You Tube site - without first consulting Labour or the other parties. Sir Christopher Kelly, who is heading up an independent inquiry into the expenses system, also said a daily allowance was unlikely to win public support. Some MPs say no decisions should be taken until Sir Christopher reports back.
WHAT IS THE TAX SITUATION WITH MPs' EXPENSES?
Most people pay tax on certain benefits received from their employers, but MPs have a different status. Chartered accountant Richard Murphy, who writes and campaigns on taxation issues through his blog Tax Research UK, says MPs fill in a special tax return. "They and ministers of religion are the only people in that special category, and that's because they have special tax rules about their expenses in particular." Usually, if a person's employer pays for an expense from which the employee has personally benefited, it counts as taxable income. Mr Murphy adds: "[MPs'] rules are quite different, their expense claims are exempt income... that's an unusual category but their expenses are not considered to be income at all. Therefore there isn't the same process of [the expenses] being considered taxable income, which they then have to prove to be non-taxable, like the rest of us."
WHY DO MPs NEED A SECOND HOME?
MPs have to spend part of their week working in their constituency and part of it in Westminster. The second homes allowance is designed to allow them to do that. MPs are asked to designated either their constituency or London property as their "second home", for which they can claim reimbursements for costs incurred "wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred from the purpose of performing your Parliamentary duties". Many MPs take exception to suggestions they are padding out their salaries with the allowance. The Telegraph highlights Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Health Secretary Alan Johnson and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn for their "modest" claims.
WHY IS IT SO CONTROVERSIAL?
The "additional costs allowance", worth up to £24,006 in 2008/9 for MPs representing seats outside central London, has been targeted by Freedom of Information campaigners who believe it is the expense most open to abuse. Before reforms began last year, MPs could use it to claim any item under £250 without providing receipts - that has been reduced to £25. It covers things like mortgage interest payments on second homes and utility bills - but Commons officials also allow claims for items of furniture, electrical goods like televisions, refurbishments and food. Those claims have proven some of the most controversial with MPs claiming for items as small as bath plugs.
WHICH CLAIMS HAVE PREVIOUSLY MADE THE HEADLINES?
Among controversial claims are Jacqui Smith's decision to designate her family home in Worcestershire, as her "second" home - for which she claimed at least £116,000 in expenses - while claiming her main home was her sister's house in London where she stays during the week. She has also apologised for "mistakenly" claiming £10 for two adult films watched by her husband. Work minister Tony McNulty is also being investigating for claiming up to £14,000 a year for his constituency home where his parents live in Harrow East. He moved out in 2002 to the property he designates his main home - eight miles away in Hammersmith. He says he used the constituency home as a base when working in Harrow. Both say they acted within the rules.
IS IT JUST LABOUR MPs UNDER SCRUTINY?
No. While ministers' claims have dominated recent headlines, the issue first hit the headlines when Tory MP Derek Conway was reprimanded by the Commons standards and privileges committee for overpaying his two sons who he employed as researchers. He was expelled from the party and ordered to repay £13, 161 paid to his younger son Freddie - who was a student in Newcastle during the period he was employed - and £3,757 paid to his son Henry. The case increased scrutiny of the practice of MPs employing their own relatives - they now have to be declared. Tory frontbencher Caroline Spelman was also told to repay £9,600 she paid to a part-time constituency secretary who, it was claimed, had worked mainly as her nanny. But the standards committee said any breach of the rules was "unintentional". The Telegraph is expected to publish details over the next few days about more MPs from all parties, including the Conservatives and Lib Dems.
DO MPs REALISE HOW BAD IT LOOKS?
DO MPs REALISE HOW BAD IT LOOKS?
MPs from all parties are acutely aware of the damage constant media stories about their expenses are doing to their standing with the public. That is why they say they are keen to reform the system - but although some changes have been voted through they have yet to reach a cross-party agreement on second homes.
There is genuine concern among MPs that Parliament has never been held in lower regard by members of the public. Even MPs who have done nothing wrong are reported to be considering quitting as they are considered "crooks" by the public. Some fear Parliament may take years to recover from the furore while others warn that voters may take out their anger with the main parties by backing fringe and extremist parties at next month's local and European elections.
SO WHAT ARE THEY DOING ABOUT IT?
The party leaders have been coming down on hard on those accused of the most serious abuses. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also called for an audit of all MP expenses claims going back four years. All parties are also calling for reform of the system - but have yet to reach full agreement on the best way to do it. A series of interim measures - banning home "flipping", the purchase of furniture and tax avoidance - are expected to be agreed by MPs. But the parties will probably have to wait for the result of a review by Sir Christopher Kelly's committee on standards in public life, before wholesale reforms can be agreed.
Tory leader David Cameron and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg are urging more rapid reform. Mr Cameron has set up his own scrutiny panel and warned that any Tory MP refusing to return money excessively claimed could be sacked. The Lib Dems say no MP should be able to make a profit on the sale of a home which was subsidised by the taxpayer.
WHERE DID THE TELEGRAPH'S INFORMATION COME FROM?
The paper is remaining tight-lipped about its source, although it has not denied paying for the information. It says it has acted in the public interest.
WASN'T THE INFORMATION GOING TO BE PUBLISHED ANYWAY?
Yes. Millions of receipts were due to be published by the Commons authorities in July. But the Telegraph says many of the key details - such as the "flipping" of second homes - would have remained hidden as addresses would have been blanked out before publication. Some MPs are angry about the unauthorised publication and the Commons authorities have asked the police to investigate, a request they are considering. The Commons says there are "reasonable grounds to believe a criminal offence may have been committed". Some MPs have questioned whether a police probe is necessary or justified, leading to angry exchanges in the Commons.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
MPs are braced for further revelations in the Telegraph in the coming days. At the same time, some are urging the police to investigate the claims made by some MPs on the grounds of possible fraud. The Daily Mail has launched a campaign for private prosecutions to be brought against some MPs. Meanwhile, the leaders of the three main parties are struggling to come up with a solution for reforming the expenses system to begin to win back confidence in Parliament.
WHY DO MPs NEED A SECOND HOME?
Not all MPs have one - only those who have to spend part of their week working in their constituency and part of it in Westminster. The second homes allowance is designed to allow them to do that.
HOW DOES THE CURRENT SYSTEM WORK?
MPs are asked to select either their constituency or London home as their "second home", for which they can claim reimbursements for costs incurred "wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred from the purpose of performing your Parliamentary duties".
HOW MUCH CAN THEY CLAIM AND FOR WHAT?
The "additional costs allowance", worth up to £24,006 in 2008/9 for MPs representing seats outside central London, has been targeted by Freedom of Information campaigners who believe it is the expense most open to abuse. Before reforms began last year, MPs could use it to claim any item under £250 without providing receipts - that has been reduced to £25. It covers things like mortgage interest payments on second homes and utility bills - but officials also allow claims for items of furniture, electrical goods like televisions, refurbishments and food. Those claims have proven some of the most controversial with MPs claiming for items as small as bath plugs.
HAVE ALL MPs BEEN ACCUSED OF ABUSING THE ALLOWANCE?
Not at all. Many take exception to suggestions they padded out their salaries with the allowance. The Telegraph highlights Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Health Secretary Alan Johnson and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn for their "modest" claims.
