Annette Brooke invites Echo to see all expenses (From Bournemouth Echo)

Annette Brooke invites Echo to see all expenses

8:53am Thursday 28th May 2009 in Search By Jim Durkin

NEW curtains, a vacuum cleaner, a burglar alarm and a toilet seat were among items charged to the taxpayer by MP Annette Brooke.

The Liberal Democrat MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole MP invited the Daily Echo to examine her books.

Mrs Brooke, who in 2007/08 claimed £16,285 for her second home – the least out of all the Daily Echo’s Dorset MPs – rents a small flat in London’s Pimlico.

Between April and August 2004 she lodged a claim for £1,135 for her London flat, which included painting and decorating, carpet cleaning and the new toilet seat.

Mrs Brooke said: “This was the one and only time I have had any maintenance done at the flat in eight years.”

Later, in October 2004, Mrs Brooke claimed £149.95 for a Dyson vacuum cleaner, from Currys, and since then she’s done the cleaning herself.

Other expenses claims included a yearly payment, in the region of £2,000 between 2004 and 2008, for her husband – and now Borough of Poole Lib Dem leader – Mike Brooke.

Mr Brooke helped arrange her diary, attended public meetings and did constituency work.

She also claimed £656.77 for a projector to help with presentations and £147.88 for a digital camera, used to prepare her “reporting back” publication for constituents and press releases.

In the financial year 2004/05 Mrs Brooke claimed £923.55 for a burglar alarm for her constituency office, after it was broken into.

“At that time we were concerned about losing important documents,” Mrs Brooke said.

She added: “Clearly the Telegraph has done a service in highlighting the claims that have been made, especially this practice of ‘flipping’ homes. But there is a line.

“One of my main concerns is that whoever took this data also stole a lot of personal information.”

Copies of Mrs Brooke’s receipts, now in the hands of the Telegraph, clearly show personal credit card and bank account details.

On the effect of the scandal, she said: “I understand how bad this can look to members of the public, especially in the current climate.

“If you or a family member have just been made redundant, it must seem horrible.”

But Mrs Brooke warned against turning revelations into a witch hunt.