MPs' expenses: Sir Stuart Bell doubts 'retrospective rules'
- 00:01:54
- ITN
MPs' expenses: Sir Stuart Bell doubts 'retrospective rules'
The Prime Minister is to repay more than £12,000 in expenses for cleaning, gardening and maintenance at his second home, according to his spokesman. The repayment came after auditor Sir Thomas Legg wrote to all MPs to highlight concerns which have arisen during his inquiry into expenses paid out over the past five years. Sir Thomas said that any claim over £2,000 a year for cleaning or £1,000 for gardening is excessive and should be repaid. Gordon Brown is to return £10,716.60 in relation to cleaning and a further £1698.50 for two further bills for the period 2004/05 to 2008/09. Mr Brown's adviser on the Ministerial Code, Sir Philip Mawer, has ruled that Mr Legg's findings do not amount to a breach, said the Prime Minister's office. The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has been asked to repay £910 claimed in expenses for gardening costs, while the Tory leader David Cameron has been asked to clarify claims in relation to his mortgage on his constituency home in Oxfordshire.
ITN | October 12, 2009
