Expenses: has your MP paid anything back?
Updated on 15 May 2009
Channel 4 News has contacted the MPs whose expense claims have been revealed and asked if they're paying it back. See the full list here.
Dozens of MPs have been accused of exploiting the Commons expenses system in the past week.
Channel 4 News has contacted every MP engulfed in the scandal to find out if they are paying anything back.
We contacted each MP to ask the following three questions:
1) Have you agreed to pay any amounts back? If so, how much and what for?
2) Have you agreed in the past week to stop claiming for certain items or services for that formerly submitted as a refundable expense? If so, how much and what for?
3) If the answer to the above two questions is no, do you envisage having to pay back any expenses in the future?
Their responses have been published below, in order of those that have agreed to pay back their claims at the top, followed by those we are awaiting responses from, and finally we list those who have not yet agreed to payback any money.
Phil Hope
Spent more than £10,000 in one year refurbishing a small London flat, among other expenses.
Paid back: £41,709
Margaret Moran
Switched address of her second home, allowing her to claim £22,500 to fix a dry rot problem.
Paid back: £22,500
Elliot Morley
Claimed parliamentary expenses of more than £16,000 for a mortgage which had already been paid off.
Paid back: £16,000
Hazel Blears
Did not pay capital gains tax on a property she sold despite having told the Commons authorities it was her second home.
Paid back: £13,332
David Chaytor
Spent nearly £13,000 for a flat in London after it was paid off in 2004.
Paid back: £13,000
Michael Gove
Spent thousands on his London home before "flipping" his Commons allowance to another address.
Paid back: £7,000
Ronnie Campbell
Claimed a total of £87,729 for furniture for his London flat.
Paid back: £6,200
Hilary Armstrong
Claimed £3,100 towards repointing walls and gables.
Paid back: £5,500
"On looking at my expenses a couple of weeks ago, I decided that I was uncomfortable about having claimed £150 per month for 3 years (and £100 for 1 month) and so decided to pay back the £5,500 for that. I was therefore not asked to repay anything, not even questioned about this by the Telegraph! It was a personal decision.
"On your second question, I have not been asked to repay anything else, and am confident that everything I have claimed is for the repair and maintenance of the property and not the enhancement of it."
Alan Duncan
Spent thousands from his allowance on gardening, including repairs to his lawnmower.
Paid back: £4,704.86
Mark Lazarowicz
Claimed more than £5,000 of his expenses claims for legal and professional fees.
Paid back: £2,675
Andrew Lansley
Spent more than £4,000 of taxpayers’ money renovating his country home months before he sold it.
Paid back: £2,600
Douglas Hogg
Included with his expenses claims the cost of having the moat cleared, piano tuned and stable lights fixed at his country manor house.
Paid back: £2,200 for moat cleaning costs.
More than £2,000 worth of furniture delivered to his London home when he was claiming his Commons allowance on a second home in Oxfordshire.
Oliver Letwin
Repaired a pipe beneath his tennis court using taxpayers' money.
Paid back: £2,000
Sir Menzies Campbell
Hired a top interior designer to refurbish his small flat in central London at taxpayers’ expense.
Paid back: £1,490.66
Julia Goldsworthy
Spent thousands of pounds on expensive furniture just days before the deadline for using up parliamentary allowances.
Paid back: £1,005
David Cameron
Claimed £680 for the removal of wisteria.
Paid back: £680
Kenneth Clarke
Avoided paying the full rate of council tax on either of his two homes by effectively claiming that neither is his main residence.
Paid back: £600
George Osborne
Claimed money for a chauffeur-driven car.
Paid back: £400
Stewart Jackson
Claimed more than £66,000 for his family home, including hundreds of pounds on refurbishing his swimming pool.
Paid back: £304.10
Alistair Burt
a) Alistair volunteered to pay back total amount of sundries (snacks and drinks) from hotel bills over fifteen months in 2004/05 (£229.24) although they were perfectly fair within subsistence reimbursement, he recognises the climate has changed
b) Doesn’t apply as Alistair has rented furnished flats since 2005 and regularly only claims rent, council tax and utilities
James Arbuthnot
Claimed from the public finances for cleaning his swimming pool at a country residence.
He has agreed to repay the money related to the swimming pool costs.
Chris Huhne
Regularly submitted receipts for bus tickets and groceries.
Paid back: £119 for trouser press
David Willetts
Claimed for changing light bulbs.
Paid back: £115 plus VAT
Michael Ancram
Put the cost of having his swimming pool boiler serviced on his parliamentary allowances.
"I have paid back the bill for £99.85 for the servicing of the swimming pool boiler which was submitted in error. I have submitted my ACA claims for scrutiny and have made it clear if any others are deemed inappropriate I will repay them. I HAVE PUBLICLY ANNOUNCED THAT I WILL MAKE NOT FURTHER CLAIMS OF ANY SORT AGIASNT THIS NOW DISCREDITED ALLOWANCE."
Nick Clegg
Claimed the maximum allowed under his parliamentary second home allowance
Paid back: £82 phone bill
Lembit Opik
Claimed £40 for a court summons for failing to pay council tax.
Paid back: £40
Andrew George
Used parliamentary expenses for a London flat used by his student daughter. He also claimed hundreds of pounds for hotel stays with his wife.
He has said he will repay £20 for a hotel breakfast
Cheryl Gillan
Bought dog food using her allowance.
Paid back: £4.47
Greg Barker
Made a £320,000 profit selling a flat the taxpayer had helped pay for.
Agreed to pay back undisclosed amount.
Jack Straw
Only paid half the amount of council tax that he claimed on his parliamentary allowances over four years.
"As he made clear last week he has already repaid some amounts claimed in error. Jack no longer makes claims under the Additional Costs Allowance."
Clare Short
Paid £8,000 too much after claiming for her full mortgage payments despite only being entitled to the interest.
"I paid back in 2006 and don’t owe anything."
Francis Maude
Claimed almost £35,000 in two years for mortgage interest payments on a London flat when he owned a house just a few hundred yards away.
Agreed to stop claiming
Chris Grayling
Claimed for a London flat even though his constituency home is only 17 miles from the House of Commons.
Agreed to stop claiming for London home.
Theresa Villiers
Claimed almost £16,000 in stamp duty and professional fees on expenses when she bought a London flat, even though she already had a house in the capital.
Agreed to stop claiming for home later this year.
Diana Johnson
Ms Johnson, a Labour whip, spent £1,000 of taxpayers' money on hiring an architect for a decorating project at her second home.
"I paid back money in March 09 for some plans to replace rotten windows. I had paid for the repair work myself in any event."
Austin Mitchell
Claimed for security shutters, ginger crinkle biscuits and the cost of reupholstering his sofa.
"I'm considering paying back the 87p for the Branston Pickle, I am giving that some serious thought. But there’s such a big queue outside the Fees Office they might not be able to consider it until next week. I have eaten the pickle though."
Derek Wyatt
Billed 75p for scotch eggs.
"I have agreed to change my diet and reduce my intake of pork pies and scotch eggs."
Gordon Brown
House swap let the PM claim thousands.
Awaiting response
Alistair Darling
Stamp duty was paid by the public.
Awaiting response
David Miliband
Spending was even queried by his gardener.
Awaiting response
Shaun Woodward
Received £100,000 to help pay mortgage.
Awaiting response
Douglas Alexander
Spent more than £30,000 doing up his constituency home.
Awaiting response
Margaret Beckett
Made a £600 claim for hanging baskets and pot plants.
Awaiting response
Andy Burnham
Had an eight-month battle with the fees office after making a single expenses claim for more than £16,500.
Awaiting response
Kevin Brennan
Had a £450 television delivered to his family home in Cardiff even though he reclaimed the money back on his London second home allowance.
Awaiting response
Iain Wright and Tom Watson
Spent £100,000 of taxpayers' money on the London flat they once shared.
Awaiting response
Barbara Follett
Used £25,000 of taxpayers' money to pay for private security patrols at her home.
Awaiting response
Andrew MacKay and Julie Kirkbride
Claimed more than £1,000 a month to cover mortgage interest payments on their joint flat near Westminster, which he designated his "second home" despite owning no property in his Bracknell constituency.
At the same time, Ms Kirkbride used her own second homes allowance to claim more than £900 a month towards the loan on their family home in Bromsgrove.
Awaiting response
James Cappison
Claimed more than £100,000 in expenses including thousands for gardening and redecoration.
Awaiting response
Phil Woolas
Submitted receipts including comics, nappies and women's clothing as part of his claims for food.
Awaiting response
Ben Bradshaw
Used his allowance to pay the mortgage interest on a flat he owned jointly with his boyfriend.
Awaiting response
Keith Vaz
Claimed £75,500 for a second flat near Parliament even though he already lived just 12 miles from Westminster.
Awaiting response
Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper
Changed the designation of their second home three times in two years.
Awaiting response
Peter and Iris Robinson
The couple, who are both Democratic Unionist Party MPs, are said to have both claimed expenses based on the same £1,223 bill when they submitted claims in 2007.
Awaiting response
Shahid Malik
Claimed £66,000 on his second property while paying less than £100 a week for his main house.
Awaiting response
Alan and Ann Keen
Claimed almost £40,000 a year on a central London flat although their family home was less than 10 miles away.
Awaiting response
Michael Martin
Used taxpayers' money to pay for chauffeur-driven cars to his local job centre and Celtic's football ground.
Awaiting response
Helen Jones
Claimed a total of £87,647 on her London flat between 2004 and 2008, most of which was taken up by mortgage interest repayments.
Awaiting response
Helen Goodman
Claimed £519.31 for a week's stay in a holiday cottage in her constituency over a bank holiday, it was claimed.
Awaiting response
Stephen Byers
Claimed more than £125,000 for repairs and maintenance at a London flat owned outright by his partner.
Awaiting response
John Reid
Used his allowance to pay for slotted spoons, an ironing board and a glittery loo seat.
Awaiting response
John Prescott
Claimed for two toilet seats in two years.
Awaiting response
Bob Marshall-Andrews
Claimed £118,000 for expenses at his second home, including stereo equipment, extensive redecoration and a pair of Kenyan carpets.
Awaiting response
Fabian Hamilton
Declared his mother’s London house as his main residence while over-charging the taxpayer by thousands of pounds for a mortgage on his family home in Leeds.
Awaiting response
Harry Cohen
Claimed thousands of pounds for redecorating his second home before selling it and charging taxpayers £12,000 in stamp duty and fees on a new property.
Awaiting response
Nick Herbert
Charged taxpayers more than £10,000 for stamp duty and fees when he and his partner bought a home together in his constituency.
Awaiting response
David Heathcoat-Amory
Gardener used hundreds of sacks of horse manure and the MP submitted the receipts to Parliament.
Awaiting response
Sir Gerald Kaufman
Charged £1,851 for a rug he imported from a New York antiques centre and tried to claim £8,865 for a television.
Awaiting response
Chris Bryant
Changed second home twice in two years to claim £20,000.
Awaiting response
Anthony Steen
Claimed £87,000 on country mansion with 500 trees.
Awaiting response
Tam Dalyell
Tried to claim £18,000 for bookcases two months before he retired as an MP.
Awaiting response
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
He "flipped" his second home designation from London to his Gloucestershire home, before buying a £2,750,000 house.
Awaiting response
Nadine Dorries
Bill for a lost £2,190 deposit on a rented flat.
Awaiting response
Crispin Blunt
Asked to stop claiming Commons allowance on his home because his children live there.
Awaiting response
Richard Younger-Ross
Asked to stop claiming Commons allowance on his home because his children live there.
Awaiting response
Julian Lewis
Attempted to claim £6,000 in expenses for a wooden floor at his second home.
Awaiting response
Fraser Kemp
Repeat purchases of household items over the space of several weeks.
Awaiting response
Mike Hall
Claimed thousands of pounds in expenses for the cost of cleaners, cleaning products and laundry bills for his London home.
Awaiting response
Liz Blackman
Engaged in last-minute shopping sprees before the end of each financial year, in an apparent attempt to make sure she claimed as close to maximum expenses as possible.
Awaiting response
Greg Knight
Claimed £2,600 in expenses for repair work on the driveway at his designated second home.
Awaiting response
David Ruffley
Claimed for new furniture and fittings after “flipping” his second home from London to a new flat in his constituency.
Awaiting response
Maria Eagle
Claimed thousands of pounds on refurbishing a bathroom at one of her flats just months before switching her designated second home to a property with a higher mortgage
Awaiting response
Joan Ryan
Spent thousands of pounds on repairs and decorations at her constituency home before switching her designated second home to a London property.
Awaiting response
Ben Chapman
Over-claimed for interest on the mortgage of his London house by about £15,000 with the approval of the fees office, reports claim.
Awaiting response
George Mudie
Claimed almost £17,000 for furniture and renovations, including a dining room set he had delivered to his constituency home before claiming it on expenses for his designated second home in London.
Awaiting response
Ruth Kelly
Claimed more than £31,000 to redecorate and furnish her designated second home in the past five years
Awaiting response
Robert Syms
Claimed more than £2,000 worth of furniture on expenses for his designated second home in London, but had it all delivered to his parents’ address in Wiltshire
Awaiting response
Madeleine Moon
Switched the address of her second home, allowing her to claim £22,500 to fix a dry rot problem. Plus £4,000 in legal fees.
Awaiting response
Sir Michael Spicer
Claimed for work on his helipad and received thousands of pounds for gardening bills.
Awaiting response
Sir Alan Haselhurst
Charged the taxpayer almost £12,000 for gardening bills at his farmhouse in Essex, his expenses claims show.
Awaiting response
Ian Davidson
Paid a family friend £5,500 to renovate his London flat and took him on two shooting trips, reports claimed. The MP for Glasgow South West also had reclining furniture worth £1,459 delivered to his constituency home.
Awaiting response
Claire Ward
Claimed up to £1,150 in petty cash over eight months on her second home allowance, of which £850 was paid out by the Fees Office. Also switched her second home to a flat a few minutes walk from her old property and more than doubled her mortgage interest payments.
Awaiting response
Ian Austin
The Dudley North MP split the stamp duty on the purchase of a flat in Waterloo in March 2006 into two claims - £6,770 and £1,344.
Awaiting response
Stephen McCabe
Mr McCabe over-claimed on his mortgage by £4,059, it was claimed. The money was deducted from the Birmingham Hall Green MP's subsequent second home expense claims.
Awaiting response
Dawn Butler
The government whip claimed thousands of pounds on renovating her second home in north London even though her main home is just 15 miles away in east London, it was reported.
"An independent review body has been established to look at all MPs allowances and I will comply with the findings of that body.
"For the record, I did not claim for a Jacuzzi as alleged by the Telegraph, this appeared on a list of works carried out to my bathroom however I specifically did not claim for that item or receive any payment and the records show this.
"I stopped claiming Additional Cost Allowance (ACA), sometimes referred to as 'second home allowance' in 2008. As stated above I will comply with any findings of the independent review body."
Patrick McLoughlin
Conservative Chief Whip was said to have claimed £3,000 for the fitting of new windows at his second home - a detached country house in Derbyshire.
Awaiting response
Nick Brown
The Government Chief Whip submitted £18,800 in unreceipted claims for food over a period of four years, it was reported.
Awaiting response
Tommy McAvoy
The Deputy Chief Whip and Labour MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West spent £86,565 in second home expenses on his Westminster flat between 2004 and 2008.
Awaiting response
John Gummer
Gardening, including the removal of moles from his lawn, cost the taxpayer £9,000
Awaiting response
Stephen Crabb
Claimed his “main home” was a room in another MP’s flat, after buying a new house for his family at taxpayers’ expense
Awaiting response
Alan Reid
Claimed more than £1,500 on his parliamentary expenses for staying in hotels and bed-and-breakfasts near his home
Awaiting response
John Austin
The Labour MP claimed more than £10,000 for the redecoration of his London flat - which was just 11 miles from his main home - before selling for a profit, it was reported. Mr Austin, MP for Erith and Thamesmead, made £30,000 when he sold the flat in Southwark, south London, in 2006, according to the newspaper.
"The answer to a and b is "no" but I believe all my claims have been inaccordance with both the rules and guidance AND the spirit of those rules.
"I have argued for more than ten years that allowances and remunertaion of MPs should be done by an independent body and that MPs should not vote on parliamentary allowances.
"In that respect, I welcome the PM's announcement. I am willing to submit all my claims and expenditure to the independent body that is being set up or other interim review body that the Labour Party may establish."
Lord Mandelson
Faced questions over the timing of his house claim which came after he had announced he would step down
"The claims submitted by Peter Mandelson were for essential maintenance. All were reasonable and fully consistent with Parliamentary rules."
Caroline Flint
Claimed £14,000 for fees for new flat
“All my claims have been agreed with the fees office and I am confident they were all within the rules but we now all accept that the rules are wrong. So I am going through my claims with a fine tooth comb and I if I find that I have claimed for anything that in hindsight appears to be unjustifiable, or fails the test of appearing to be beyond reproach, then I will pay the money back. In addition, as the Prime Minister has said, all receipts will be independently scrutinised and in the future claims for fittings, furniture and household goods will not be allowed. “
Vera Baird
Claimed the cost of Christmas tree decorations
“Vera Baird MP does not participate in surveys of this kind.”
Ian Lucas
The assistant Labour whip claimed around £1,000 a month in mortgage interest payments on a London flat - and sold it for a £45,000 profit, billing taxpayers for £6,000 in sale fees.
Mr Lucas has asked me to respond – in short, the answers to your questions are (1) No; (2); No and (3) No.
Barry Gardiner
Bought a flat in Pimlico for £246,500 in 2003 and spent more than £11,000 renovating it – and claiming mortgage interest – before selling it for £445,000 in 2007.
"In response to your three questions:
No
No
No
Yours sincerely
Barry Gardiner
Member of Parliament for Brent North"
David Maclean
Spent thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money renovating a farmhouse before selling it for £750,000.
a) No.
b) No, because I stopped voluntarily in July last year. I did not claim a penny in furniture, fittings and white goods since 31st March 2008. I saved almost £30,000 last year.
c) No, but this will be up to David Cameroon’s Scrutiny Committee. Because of the Telegraph's misreporting of my position I am preparing detailed files for that team and will abide by their decision.
Sir Nicholas and Ann Winterton
Claimed more than £80,000 for a London flat owned by a trust controlled by their children.
Ann Winterton: "I have used the allowance legitimately and do not envisage having to pay any back."
Sir Nicholas: "No, no and no."
James Gray
The MP for North Wiltshire claimed £2,000 for future decorations to his second home on the day his lease on the property ended. Also claimed £5,000 to cover the cost of moving into a property nearby with his new partner.
Thank you for your email. (a) No, (b) NO (c) No.
John Redwood
Admitted being paid twice after submitting an identical £3,000 decorating bill on his second home allowance
"The answer is No to all three"
Paul Murphy
Had a new plumbing system installed at taxpayers’ expense because the water in the old one was “too hot”.
“In response to your email, the Committee on Members' Allowances has been asked to make urgent proposals to reassess all claims made. Mr Murphy will, of course, abide by any proposals that they make.”
Geoff Hoon
Claimed taxpayer-funded expenses for at least two properties
Spokesman said answer to all the questions was 'no'. Wanted to make clear he wasn't liable for capital gains tax on house.
Phil Willis
The Lib-Dem MP spent around £15,000 of taxpayers' money on mortgage interest payments and refurbishing a flat in which his daughter now lives, according to reports.
The answer to all three questions is ‘no’ from Phil.
David Clelland
Claimed for the cost of “buying out” his partner’s £45,000 stake in his London flat
a) no
b) no
c) don't know, it will be a matter for the scrutiny committee, but not expecting anything
Kitty Ussher
Asked the Commons authorities to fund extensive refurbishment of her Victorian family home.
"Kitty has always made clear that the public needs to have confidence in the democratic process. She fully supports the Committee on Standards in Public Life's review into creating a better system for MPs expenses that the Prime Minister has asked for and believes it is right that MPs expenses' claims should be published.
"All her claims were in line with the relevant House of Commons rules and guidance and have been approved by the Fees Office."
David Davis
Spent more than £10,000 of taxpayers’ money on home improvements in four years, including a new £5,700 portico at his home in Yorkshire.
“David’s expenses will be considered by the Review Panel announced by David Cameron on Tuesday.
“In addition, the whole party has agreed to no longer claim for furniture, other household goods and daily subsistence allowance.”
John Maples
Declared a private members’ club as his main home to the parliamentary authorities
"I have said that I believe that I have done nothing wrong, but also that I have asked the Scrutiny Panel set up by David Cameron to look into my claim. If they decide that, despite the Fees Office approval, I should not have claimed ACA for that period, then I will refund it."
Nick Harvey
Had to be reminded twice by parliamentary officials to submit receipts with his expenses claims.
"The answer is no to all three."
Alex Salmond & Angus Robertson
Claimed £400 per month for food when the Commons was not even sitting. Robertson successfully appealed to the fees office when they turned down his claim for a £400 home cinema system
"We welcome the establishment of an independent group to scrutinise all MPs expenses over the past four years, and if that group find anything untoward with specific claims, even if it was within the rules, it will be paid back.
"In the meantime, SNP MPs are responding to the Westminster mess by proactively publishing our expenses for 2008-09 – the year after the Daily Telegraph have information for – and thereafter publishing on a quarterly basis, exactly like the Scottish Parliament system."
