'I've paid back £10,000 but I won't tell you why', says MP
STAFFORDSHIRE Moorlands MP Charlotte Atkins has repaid more than £10,000 to the House of Commons Fees Office – but will not tell taxpayers why she has paid the money back or what it bought.
The Labour MP claimed the money as part of the second home allowance for her Leek home between April last year and the end of March.
But last year's expenses are yet to be made public by Parliament and Ms Atkins is remaining tight-lipped about the exact details.
She will only say that she voluntarily chose to pay the money back after the Prime Minister changed the rules on what could be claimed for earlier this year.
Her repayment is included in a list of dozens of MPs who have paid cash back since the expenses scandal was first revealed last month.
In a statement, Ms Atkins said: "In advance of finalising my 2008/09 claims Gordon Brown created new rules.
"I decided to retrospectively apply them to the claim I had recently submitted."
The £10,226.50 paid back by Ms Atkins does not include any of the £87,702 she claimed through her second home allowance between 2004 and 2007.
Claims included charging taxpayers £9,383 for a new bathroom, complete with Minton Hollins tiles and a Dorchester bath, at her Leek home, £4,017 for guttering and the rebuilding of a chimney, £5,388 for cleaners and £645 for loft insulation.
Ms Atkins also received £500 a month for six months in 2003/04 to pay for security measures, including putting metal bars on her windows to protect her during the fox-hunting debate.
But last month the three party leaders agreed on an immediate ban on second home claims for furniture, cleaning and stamp duty.
In addition MPs can no longer "flip" the designation of their second home and a cap was put on mortgage payments.
It is not known when the 2008/09 expenses will be published.
Meanwhile, Stoke-on-Trent North MP Joan Walley has also repaid money to the Fees Office – £324.93 for electricity charges she says were given back to her by her power company.
She said: "I pay my electricity bill through a standing order and when they came out to inspect the meter they found I had been overpaying over a period.
"They credited my account and I paid that money back to the Fees Office."
News of Ms Walley's repayment comes as her expenses reveal she also claimed £104,389.96 in office costs over the last four years. Most of her claims were to pay for phone bills, printing, energy bills, and office stationery and supplies.
They include £721.74 for Dell computer equipment in March 2006 and £171.90 on a digital camera months later.
Ms Walley also claimed around £17,000 to produce her MP reports over four years, £3,000 on a management consultant for constituency work and research services and £1,200 to pay for second class stamps.
Ms Walley had claimed £60,267.07 in expenses for her second home over the same period.
Asked about her office costs, Ms Walley said: "I run a constituency office in the heart of my constituency which I staff and devote the allowances I have to running the services my constituents expect and deserve.
"Every penny has been necessary for a well-run constituency office."
The Sentinel has already reported that Stone MP Bill Cash has agreed to repay about £15,000 and Stafford MP David Kidney paid back £2,427.82 after claming for too many council tax and water rate bills.
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21 Comments
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by Warren, Meir
Monday, June 22 2009, 6:03PM
“Well, there you go, give some fools more rope, the only thing they do is hang themselfs even more, she's gone now, thats for sure. I just can not get over the ordasarty of the woman.”
by Voter, Staffordshire Moorlands
Monday, June 22 2009, 12:15PM
“Charlotte,
At next years election I won't be voting for you. I don't think that I need to tell you why!”
by David, Burslem
Monday, June 22 2009, 11:18AM
“I believe that Mark Fisher's Chromavision expenses relate to office rental.
And his £1500 per month mortgage payment should, under the MPs so-called rules, be for the INTEREST ONLY on the mortgage! I know it's London but what type of property is he living in if that is the monthly interest.”
by rhino, newcastle
Monday, June 22 2009, 8:06AM
“oh...that's ok then ....just keep it to yourself....what makes her so bloody special,get off your high horse you arrogant c@w..........maybe getting the sack and working for minimum wage would bring you back down to earth and pay your own bills.................talk about taking bloody liberty's......god it makes me angry..rant over”
by Derrick, A Once Great Land
Sunday, June 21 2009, 8:43PM
“It doesn't really matter if she tells us or not. We know what what a thouroughly sickening bunch of lowlife expenses scroungers they all are anyway.
When they come knocking on your door wanting you to vote for them in a few months time, just say 'Oink, oink oink!' to them and close the door in their face. :)”
by Melv, Burslem
Sunday, June 21 2009, 12:18PM
“I can just imagine these MPs sat around a table in the bar.They will be talking ,laughing with each other over what they have managed to claim for.
If they had to pay for some of the items out of their own pocket they would buy from the £1 shop.But because they can claim they buy from somewhere much more expensive.”
by JC, Hanley
Sunday, June 21 2009, 11:11AM
“After a quick skim through Mark Fishers claims,i have several probably naive questions.
Why do WE have to pay bills that normal low lifes like us have to pay out of our salary?
I.E. £1500 a month mortgage,
£150 a month FOR CLEANING,
gas, electricity,BT,council tax???
These are things that are normal everyday expenses for us all,PAY YOUR OWN,POLITICIANS dont spong of us.
Then we get into the more questionable items.
£72 per week rental charges from Chromavision in Stoke. £72 A WEEK,whatever this is for,surely it would be more cost effective to BUY this item.
Then for 01/02/2007 he claims £334.88 for "moving expences" and the very next month ,we have another £587.50 for "moving expense".Nearly a thousand pound in 2 months.
I find these claims very moving and not in a good way.
I dont mind M.P.'s claiming for stationary used in their jobs as M.P's ,but TWO laptops?
Face paints?
I think it's time that politics and the running of this country were disassociated.Sack all the politicians and get succesful business people to run the country and pay them a dececnt salary (no more than £100k p.a.) ONLY if they run the country profitably.
Because lets face,if this shower or morons who are running the country now were paid on results,they would be paying us for the few millenia.”
by David, Stoke-on-Trent
Saturday, June 20 2009, 6:13PM
“Don't count on the Police taking any action against this low-life. They are now purely an instrument of government and Miss Smith will ensure a whitewash. I would prefer to call it a brownwash.”
by N, Hanley
Saturday, June 20 2009, 5:24PM
“She isn't going to tell us why she's paid the money back,fine,I dare say we will find out eventually.Its amazing how many MPs are quitting now that their expenses 'perks' have come into the public eye.Sack those who are corrupt and charge them with fraud,nice to see the police investigating these crooks who are masquerading as politicians.”
by geoff, Telford
Saturday, June 20 2009, 4:40PM
“These People ( if we can call them People) should not just give back a pittance but all of it to our country. Then they should be tried and if found guilty prisioned , but as these greedy thieves are suppose to be trustworthy there prison sentence should be 10 times the normal person. I am quite sure not to far back in history these lot would have dangled , I am sure of that. They all want kicking out and we should all vote for honest people.
these people should all be listed when the voting comes around soon and we should all give them the heevo. I wonder how many will soon be knocking on our doors and telling us what a gret job they have have done , I dont think they will have gall because I know what they will get.
They disgust me , and they suppose to be above us . They have not only robber ' OUR' I repeat OUR COUNTRY but they have robbed there families there friends and their neighbours. I wonder why our old folk cant claim for similar things and perhaps work a few fiddles. Don't forget check em out at the next vote !!!!!”