MPs under fresh scrutiny over expenses
- 00:01:18
- ITN
MPs under fresh scrutiny over expenses
A minister begged the Commons authorities: "Please pay as much as you are able!" while putting home repairs on expenses, it has emerged. Work and Pensions minister Kitty Ussher claimed £40,000 over two years after being elected in 2005. The Burnley MP set out a wish-list of "essential repairs" for her Victorian house - which she had already lived in for five years - while asking for guidance over the controversial Additional Costs Allowance. She wrote a two-page letter asking for new plumbing, electrical work, carpets, windows and furniture, adding: "I am aware this takes us over our limit - please pay as much as you are able!" In 2005-6 - the year she became an MP - Ms Ussher was allowed to claim £17,903. Over the following 12 months, when the work was carried out, she received the maximum £22,110. A spokesman for Ms Ussher said she supported the publication of MPs' expenses, adding: "All her claims were in line with the relevant House of Commons rules and guidance and have been approved by the Fees Office." Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has denied that she escaped paying an £18,000 capital gains tax bill by registering a south London flat as her main home with the taxman, but calling it her second home under Commons rules. Ms Blears sold the property in Kennington in August 2004 for £200,000, making £45,000 profit - but was able to claim back thousands of pounds in mortgage interest and running costs. A spokesman for Ms Blears said: "Hazel has complied with the rules of the House authorities and HMRC. No liability for capital gains tax arose on the sale of her flat in Kennington." Receipts leaked to a newspaper revealed that Ms Blears received expenses towards three properties in a single year by designating each of them as her second home in turn.
ITN | May 10, 2009
