It's payback time for area's MPs (From Bournemouth Echo)

It's payback time for area's MPs

10:30am Friday 5th February 2010 in

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ALMOST £25,000 is to be repaid to the public purse by our region’s MPs following a review of their expense claims.

Bournemouth West MP Sir John Butterfill, who was one of the most prominent targets in the expenses row, has repaid the most – a total of £17,478.43.

The Conservative MP had been criticised for claiming mortgage interest payments on the whole of his former second home in Surrey, which included accommodation for a gardener/caretaker.

However he staunchly refuted any wrongdoing and believes he is now vindicated by Sir Thomas Legg’s report, which recommended he repay £2,364.13 for overpayments of mortgage interest and council tax.

“Sir Thomas Legg has taken a rather different view from that taken by the Telegraph,” he said. “I’ve very considerably overpaid by about £15,000.

“I’m not asking for this back because my reputation is frankly far more valuable to me than money. I always hoped and suspected I would be acquitted of the charges in the Telegraph and am pleased that is the case.”

Labour’s Jim Knight, MP for South Dorset, has to repay the second largest amount – a total of £3,451.67.

Most of this relates to overpaid mortgage interest but there was also a claim for a £500 computer that, while legitimate, was paid from the wrong allowance.

Mr Knight has not yet repaid the money in full but said this was because he had only just received notification of the final figure and he had now made arrangements to settle up.

“It’s really no different to any of my constituents being overpaid tax credits,” he said. “Sir Thomas Legg has made it clear these are overpayments and not over-claims.”

Annette Brooke, MP for Mid Dorset and Poole North, has repaid a total of £1.538.78. More than £200 of this was for mobile phone costs that were legitimate but claimed from the wrong allowance. The remaining £1,300 was for overpaid rent in 2006.

The Liberal Democrat MP said she had been underpaid rent for the previous year and could have chosen to appeal against the mobile phone charges but decided not to.

“I really can hold my head up high because I’m absolutely convinced I’ve not had money I shouldn’t have,” she said.

“You look at that report and you see MPs who have flipped their houses, have not paid capital gains tax and have claimed the maximum yet have got a clean bill of health.

“But we’ve now got to move on and accept it has been a shambles because it is so important to restore faith in democracy.”

North Dorset MP Robert Walter has repaid a total of £1,228.32, more than the £829.32 identified in Sir Thomas’s report, which said he had been overpaid for gardening costs, mortgage interest and a television cabinet.

The Conservative MP said: “I just hope now that this is the final chapter and we can get on with a new system.

“The old system was what I would describe as grubby and I hope we can have a clear, transparent system under the new regime.”

Tobias Ellwood, Conservative MP for Bournemouth East, has repaid £940.98 for overpaid mortgage interest from 2005/06. He was not available for comment.

Christchurch MP Christopher Chope was originally asked to repay £357.86 for overpaid mortgage interest and mobile phone bills that were claimed from the wrong allowance. The Conservative MP successfully appealed and had this wiped out. He has told the Echo he now wishes to draw a line under the matter.

Sir Thomas’s report identified “no issues” with New Forest MP Desmond Swayne, Poole MP Robert Syms and former Bournemouth East MP David Atkinson.

Mr Swayne, a Conservative MP, said: “I think the answer to all this is absolute transparency, every claim as it’s made should be available online in real time so people can see it.”

And fellow Conservative Mr Syms said: “I’m happy that Sir Thomas Legg was happy with my five years of claims. It’s been a relief.

“One’s concern is always that if I had been put in a position where I had to repay anything, it makes you look guilty.”

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