Harpenden MP: "We have only ourselves to blame" (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Harpenden MP: "We have only ourselves to blame"

1:53pm Monday 8th February 2010

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

HARPENDEN MP Peter Lilley has welcomed the vindication of his Parliamentary expenses adding that MPs only have themselves to blame.

In his review of expense claims, Sir Thomas Legg told Mr Lilley to repay more than £40,000 claimed as mortgage interest on his second home, a central London flat.

Sir Thomas ruled that as the mortgage was used to repay a loan to Mr Lilley from his wife the claims were effectively repayment of capital, not interest.

But on Thursday, judge Sir Paul Kennedy allowed Mr Lilley's appeal in full, saying he was "at a loss to understand" the original ruling.

Mr Lilley, recovering from swine flu in hospital, said: "I was confident that my own claims would not be a problem since they had been rigorously examined by the Fees Office and the Scrutiny Committee.

”So I was surprised that the Legg review suggested that my HSBC mortgage infringed a supposed technical rule.

"When challenged, the Legg review team could not identify any such rule.

"Nonetheless, the whole system of allowances was indefensible and we MPs have only ourselves to blame for damage it has caused to the reputation of Parliament.

"It is important that Parliament and the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority now move swiftly to replace the discredited old system by one which is as transparent as possible and reduces the value of allowances to a minimum.”

 

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)