Gordon Brown backs his Chancellor Alistair Darling

Chancellor Alistair Darling has pledged to repay some of his expenses following allegations that he claimed on two homes at once. The Daily Telegraph reported that in July 2007, ten days after becoming Chancellor, Mr Darling submitted a £1,004 claim for service charges on his south London flat up to December of that year. The paper said that during that period he moved into Downing Street and began renting out the flat. Mr Darling insisted he had not claimed for two homes at the same time, but said he would be repaying some of the cash. In a statement he said: "The allegation I claimed for two houses at the same time is untrue. "I became Chancellor in June 2007. In September I moved from my London flat to live in Downing Street. I made no further claims on that flat." He continued: "In October 2007 the flat was let and the tenant moved in. The service charge was paid in advance in six-monthly intervals. When I reclaimed the cost of the service charge in July 1, I was living in the flat. "However, because the service charge covered the period beyond September until December, I will repay the service charge from September to December." Prime Minister Gordon Brown earlier defended the Chancellor, saying he had been assured that there was no foundation to the Daily Telegraph's claims. "Alistair Darling is a very good Chancellor and he has been a very good colleague and friend. If he had done anything wrong he would be the first to admit it," the Prime Minister said. "As far as I understand it, these are the same kind of suggestions that were made a few weeks ago. "They've been before people who review these things and I don't think that there is substance in these allegations but obviously they have got to be investigated by the House of Commons committee that is looking at every MP including me." The newspaper allegations come after Mr Brown announced he is planning to introduce a code of conduct for MPs. The PM said there are "clear cases" of MPs who may have broken the law over their expenses claims. However, he insisted only "a few" MPs have abused the Westminster perks system to that extent.

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ITN | June 1, 2009

Tags:. .tenant. .reclaimed. .untrue. .intervals. .pledged