Commons Speaker candidates' expenses revealed ahead of vote

The MPs vying to succeed Michael Martin as Speaker of the House of Commons are under scrutiny after fresh disclosures about their expenses claims. The details emerged ahead of Monday's election of the next Speaker, who will be charged with restoring trust in Parliament after the expenses scandal. Among the latest disclosures is the allegation former Cabinet minister Margaret Beckett claimed almost £11,000 in gardening expenses, including £1,380 for plants. Tory MP John Bercow reportedly twice claimed for an accountant to complete his tax return, costing the public more than £480 each time. And Ann Widdecombe apparently spent more than £9,000 of taxpayers' money on a newspaper cuttings service, which she insists was not a "vanity exercise". Lib Dem Sir Alan Beith reportedly used his office expenses to pay for his secretary to work in his constituency during the 2005 general election campaign, at a cost of £220 a week. The other candidates - Tory backbencher Sir Patrick Cormack, Labour MP Parmjit Dhanda, deputy Speaker Sir Michael Lord, Sir Alan Haselhurst, Conservative MP Richard Shepherd and Tory Sir George Young - were all also named in the article. The new Speaker will be decided in a complex, and probably lengthy, election procedure in the Commons.

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ITN | June 21, 2009

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