THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE OTHERS
So how did the NUJ’s MPs make out in the great expenses expose? The Journalist identifies the Saints, the Sinners and the Somewhere -in-betweeners
MARGARET BECKETT was jeered on BBC Question Time when she defended her claims. She said that a bill for gardening had been submitted by mistake because she was “extremely busy”. She had claimed £600 for “the supply of plants for hanging baskets, tubs, pots, planters, pouches and garden”, and £711 for “labour and materials for painting of summer house, shed and pergola”. The claims were rejected by the fees office. Between 2004 and 2008 she claimed second home allowances of £72,537 for her constituency home in Derby, despite having no mortgage or rent to pay. As a minister she lived in a free apartment, enabling her to rent out her London flat.
BEN BRADSHAW is accused of flipping his second home to use the allowance for the mortgage on a more expensive house which he co-owns with his civil partner, a BBC journalist. But in an open letter to his constituents he said he had never claimed for food, furniture, or fittings and fixtures. He accused The Telegraph of homophobia in the way it presented his claims, saying he had been singled out because his partner was a man.
MALCOLM BRUCE claimed for items at both his London home and his Deeside constituency house because his wife works as his office manager.
ANN CLWYD claims close to the £400 monthly food limit and £200 a month for cleaning. In 2007, she claimed £2,300 for carpets, tables and a chair.
ANGELA EAGLE, who became pension minister in the recent reshuffle, claimed just £155 a month for mortgage interest on her constituency home and at one point was under-claiming on council tax.
PAUL FARRELLY claims £1,330 mortgage interest on a house in north London and regularly makes the maximum £400 monthly claim for food. He also claims £130-£200 a month for cleaning and parking permits.
GERALD KAUFMAN charged £1,851 for an antique rug imported from New York, despite rules outlawing “antique, luxury or premium grade” furnishings. He tried to charge for an £8,865 television — a claim which was turned down and he has since called “a bit daft”. He put in monthly requests for £245 for odd jobs, £5 below the limit above which receipts are required. He says the actual amount he pays is higher. He was called to a meeting with officials over a claim for £28,834 spent on home improvements between 2005 and 2007. They included £575 for undertile heating in the shower room and £2,695 for kitchen appliances. The fees office eventually agreed to pay £15,329 of the total.
SALLY KEEBLE claimed £4,112 for windows at her Northampton house under the second home allowance, £3,072 for a new boiler and £950 for maintenance on the bathroom, which included a £400 panel shower with rain bars. She has said she will pay back the £289 cost of a tumble drier.
SHONA McISAAC claimed more than £4,600 on furniture including an £80 coat stand.
AUSTIN MITCHELL, who is chair of the NUJ Parliamentary group, had a claim for £1,296 security shutters turned down because the Fees Office said they were not robust enough. He submitted food claims including for a 67 pence packet of ginger crinkle biscuits, bottles of whisky and gin and a 68p jar of Branston pickle. He also claimed £1,200 in 2007 for re-upholstering sofas. His response to The Telegraph was that the 20-year-old covers were “stained with Branston pickle, whisky, and gin” — neither of which he drinks.
CHRIS MULLIN is one of just 0.05 per cent of the population to still own a black and white television set, and he bills taxpayers for the £45-a-year licence fee. He told the Telegraph: “I have owned it for more than 30 years and since it still works I see no reason to change it.”
ANGUS ROBERTSON claimed £400 for a home cinema system “purchased to catch up with recorded political programmes”.
PAUL TRUSWELL stays in hotels in London while at Westminster, usually paying £119 for a room. He claimed £4.95 for packets of nuts, the Telegraph said. In 2007-08 he claimed £2,255 for food and £18 for laundry.
MPs who have left the union ....
GORDON BROWN, who resigned from the NUJ in 2003, flipped his second home to his constituency shortly before moving into 10 Downing Street. He then billed the taxpayer for gardening at almost £1,500 a year, as well as repairs and renovations. As Chancellor he claimed expenses for a £650-a-month mortgage on a flat in Westminster. The taxpayer funded a £9,000 Ikea kitchen.
YVETTE COOPER, who left the NUJ in 1999, flipped homes three times in two years, each time increasing the amount of her taxpayer-funded mortgage. She says the Telegraph did not “properly or accurately reflect the facts of our claims”. She and husband Ed Balls had been cleared of any wrongdoing by an earlier parliamentary enquiry. She also claimed £225 for a digital camera and £1,200 for 30,000 calendars.
Tory front bencher MICHAEL GOVE, who resigned from the NUJ in 2007, flipped his second home after spending thousands furnishing it with items including a £454 dishwasher, a £639 range cooker, a £702 fridge freezer, and eight coffee spoons and cake forks, worth £5.95 each. He also claimed for a £34.99 cot mattress, even though children’s equipment is banned under the rules. When he moved to a new £395,000 property in his Surrey constituency he transferred his second home allowance there and billed the taxpayer £13,259 for the move. In between homes he billed £500 for one night at a health spa. He claimed the maximum additional costs allowance for his second home every year. He has said he will pay back £7,000 of the money spent on his London home, and the money for the cot mattress.
Finally ....
JOHN McDONNELL — not a union member but secretary of the NUJ Parliamentary group — does not claim a second home allowance as an outer London MP, but took the London supplement instead. His incidental expenses allowance receipts 2007-2008 are for repairs to his office, taxis, and mobile phone bills. There’s a bill for £611 from accountants for dealing with his tax.