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12th May, 2009, 07:00 AM
Tories Claim Thousands For Country Estates
11:41pm UK, Monday May 11, 2009
Senior Conservatives have claimed tens of thousands of pounds for work on their country estates - including a ?380 bill for horse manure.
MPs' Expenses - Cash falls over Westminster
Latest disclosures are likely to further fuel public anger over Parliamentary expenses
The Daily Telegraph described them as the "most extravagant" expense claims yet made by MPs in its investigation into the abuse of Parliament allowances.
Tory leader David Cameron told Sky News he is "appalled" by the revelations and would take disciplinary action where necessary.
The claims of eight senior Conservatives including former minister David Heathcoat-Amory, who made the claim for the manure, are published in today's newspaper.
Some MPs claimed costs, including council tax and repair bills, for multiple properties on the same estates, the Telegraph reported.
It told how James Arbuthnot MP has now apologised for his "error of judgment" after claiming cash from the public purse for cleaning his swimming pool
The claims related to a home he rented in Hampshire before he bought a ?2m home without a mortgage two years ago.
Over five years, the chairman of the Defence Select Committee claimed ?108,062 on his second home - the most available under the MPs' allowances system.
More grim reading for MPs
Others on the Tory list of shame are:
Former Cabinet minister Douglas Hogg claimed ?2,000 for a moat to be cleared round his country estate.
Sir Michael Spicer, chairman of the 1922 Committee, pocketed ?7,000 for his garden maisonette and hedge cutting, and claimed for hanging a chandelier in his main manor house.
Former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis claimed ?10,000 for home furnishing and ?5,700 for a portico for his home in Yorkshire, and ?2,000 for mowing and rolling two paddocks.
Ex-party chairman Michael Ancram claimed "thousands" for gardening and cleaning, a boiler for a swimming pool, and maintenance for a cottage in his grounds.
Stewart Jackson claimed ?11,000 for "professional fees" within a year of becoming an MP as well as ?300 for work on his swimming pool.
The disclosures are likely to further fuel public anger over the Parliamentary expenses system - and lead to a further erosion of trust in politicians.
The process of "flipping", swapping around between how properties are designated, is designed to milk the taxpayer for the maximum.
Over the past few days, the Telegraph has shaken Westminster with a series of articles detailing the expense claims made by MPs from all political parties.
Gordon Brown offered a public apology on behalf of all MPs over the scandal and called on parties to come together to "clean up" politics.
However, there were angry scenes in the Commons as Speaker Michael Martin slapped down an MP who challenged the decision to call in police to investigate the leaked expenses to the Telegraph.
Hoey and Martin clash over expenses
Labour backbencher Kate Hoey said the inquiry was an "awful waste of money" at a time when the police already had a "huge job" to do in London.
She was cut short by Mr Martin who told her: "I listen to you often, when I turn on my television at midnight, and I hear your public utterances and your pearls of wisdom on Sky News. It's easy to talk then.
"Some of us in this House have other responsibilities."
Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker described Mr Martin's response as "disgraceful".
11:41pm UK, Monday May 11, 2009
Senior Conservatives have claimed tens of thousands of pounds for work on their country estates - including a ?380 bill for horse manure.
MPs' Expenses - Cash falls over Westminster
Latest disclosures are likely to further fuel public anger over Parliamentary expenses
The Daily Telegraph described them as the "most extravagant" expense claims yet made by MPs in its investigation into the abuse of Parliament allowances.
Tory leader David Cameron told Sky News he is "appalled" by the revelations and would take disciplinary action where necessary.
The claims of eight senior Conservatives including former minister David Heathcoat-Amory, who made the claim for the manure, are published in today's newspaper.
Some MPs claimed costs, including council tax and repair bills, for multiple properties on the same estates, the Telegraph reported.
It told how James Arbuthnot MP has now apologised for his "error of judgment" after claiming cash from the public purse for cleaning his swimming pool
The claims related to a home he rented in Hampshire before he bought a ?2m home without a mortgage two years ago.
Over five years, the chairman of the Defence Select Committee claimed ?108,062 on his second home - the most available under the MPs' allowances system.
More grim reading for MPs
Others on the Tory list of shame are:
Former Cabinet minister Douglas Hogg claimed ?2,000 for a moat to be cleared round his country estate.
Sir Michael Spicer, chairman of the 1922 Committee, pocketed ?7,000 for his garden maisonette and hedge cutting, and claimed for hanging a chandelier in his main manor house.
Former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis claimed ?10,000 for home furnishing and ?5,700 for a portico for his home in Yorkshire, and ?2,000 for mowing and rolling two paddocks.
Ex-party chairman Michael Ancram claimed "thousands" for gardening and cleaning, a boiler for a swimming pool, and maintenance for a cottage in his grounds.
Stewart Jackson claimed ?11,000 for "professional fees" within a year of becoming an MP as well as ?300 for work on his swimming pool.
The disclosures are likely to further fuel public anger over the Parliamentary expenses system - and lead to a further erosion of trust in politicians.
The process of "flipping", swapping around between how properties are designated, is designed to milk the taxpayer for the maximum.
Over the past few days, the Telegraph has shaken Westminster with a series of articles detailing the expense claims made by MPs from all political parties.
Gordon Brown offered a public apology on behalf of all MPs over the scandal and called on parties to come together to "clean up" politics.
However, there were angry scenes in the Commons as Speaker Michael Martin slapped down an MP who challenged the decision to call in police to investigate the leaked expenses to the Telegraph.
Hoey and Martin clash over expenses
Labour backbencher Kate Hoey said the inquiry was an "awful waste of money" at a time when the police already had a "huge job" to do in London.
She was cut short by Mr Martin who told her: "I listen to you often, when I turn on my television at midnight, and I hear your public utterances and your pearls of wisdom on Sky News. It's easy to talk then.
"Some of us in this House have other responsibilities."
Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker described Mr Martin's response as "disgraceful".