Hundreds of MPs are being asked to repay sums following a review of all claims by Sir Thomas Legg, ordered after claims details were leaked and published by the Daily Telegraph in May. The list of MPs includes:
- Conservative leader David Cameron, who has been asked by Sir Thomas to provide more information about payments for which he over-claimed in 2006 when he changed his mortgage. He had already repaid £218.
- Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, who is to repay £910 of the £3,900 he claimed for gardening between 2006 and 2009.
The retrospective limit of five years set by Sir Thomas is believed to have angered some MPs, who say they may challenge the request for repayment in the courts.
Meanwhile ex-Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has apologised to MPs over her expenses. She designated her sister's house in London, which she shares, as her "main home" and then claimed £116,000 in second home allowances on her Redditch family home.
An independent inquiry concluded that Miss Smith had broken the rules, by "wrongly" designating her home and charging for expenses, but had followed officials' advice at the time. She also misused her allowances by charging the taxpayer for two adult films watched by her husband, adding that the claims were not a "one-off".
However the committee has simply asked her to apologise. She will not have to repay any money.
Brown to repay £12,415 expenses
Smith apology for expenses claims
So besides an economy on its knees and a military quagmire in Afghanistan, some of our MPs could be embezzlers, fraudsters and thieves...and they have the nerve to be "angry" now that they've been told to cough up.
Enough is enough. If any of our "Honourable Members" are found to have broken the law, they should face the full weight of our legal system, including community service and/or jail terms...
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