Spotlight back on MPs' expenses

They're back. New figures today reveal a fresh batch of expenses claims. London reporter Sunita Patel reports

Just when MPs thought the expenses row had been put to bed for 2009 – it rears its ugly head again.

Today, fresh details of the second home allowance claims of Parliament's 646 MPs for 2008/09 have been laid bare, marking the latest stage in the long-running battle between MPs and Freedom of Information campaigners over the issue and the release of the details.

Hundreds of thousands of documents are being made available on the internet – including claims for the first three months of 2009/10. All the figures were supposedly placed on-line at 6am today, although details of some West Midland MPs had still not emerged three hours later because of teething troubles.

Click here to find out what your MP has claimed.

MPs submitted most of the latest 2008/09 receipts long before they knew they would be made public. The scandal that broke earlier in the summer related to receipts submitted for the period 2007/08.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown was the among the first to make the headlines today, claiming £500 for the repainting of a "summer house" in his garden. Downing Street said the PM has already repaid the money.

Conservative leader David Cameron claimed £20,240 in 2008/09 and £3,066.91 for the period covered in 2009/10.

The bulk of Mr Cameron's claims were made up by the £1,081 monthly mortgage interest payment on his second home, though there were also claims for phone bills, gas, electricity, heating oil, insurance and council tax.

The papers show that the Tory leader was caught out in September 2008 by the new rules requiring receipts for claims over £25, as his £194 claim for a utility bill was deducted because he had not supplied supporting documentation. The sum was later paid in full.

West Midlands MPs too braced themselves for the latest wave of disclosures. Dudley North MP and West Midlands regional minister Ian Austin claimed a total of £23,262 last year, including £4,100 for food and £15,428 on mortgage/rent.

He also claimed £70 cleaning costs and £134 a month to pay his council tax bills.

Treasury minister and Dudley South MP Ian Pearson's second home allowance claim totalled £23,887. This included £3,796 for food and £10,591 mortgage interest charges. Other claims included £173 a month on council tax, £600 for gardening and and "kitchen cabinets" with an optional extra brass door knocker for £40 + vat.

Adrian Bailey, MP for West Bromwich West, was revealed to have spent thousands of pounds of taxpayers' cash furnishing and decorating his London flat near Westminster during the last round of disclosures. His latest receipts revealed he purchased furniture from M&S worth £1,642, bedding worth £175 and £4.72 on toilet paper (Andrex) in 2008/09.

He said: "I have always done my best to stay within the letter and the spirit of the rules. The Legg process has examined all my expenses in great detail and despite reducing the overall level of expenses, has informed me that I have nothing to pay back," he added.

Wolverhampton North East MP Ken Purchase claimed £11,049 in total, including £3,300 for food and £6,194 for rent. His forms and receipts revealed claims the Fees Office asked for clarification of. This included a £50 petty cash claim in April 2008 which was marked "not allowable".

He told the Express & Star today: "You can do what you like with the figures. They are there, it's done. It's 12 months old and if you have any queries, I wouldn't be able to answer them."

West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson, who shares a flat in London with housing minister Iain Wright, submitted claims for his half of the expenses. His total second home allowance claim for last year was £14,026 of which he claimed £12,345 mortgage interest and £975 for food – down from the £4,000 maximum food allowance he claimed the year before.

He said: "I was entitled to claim more but have made a conscious effort to economise."

Walsall North MP David Winnick, one of the key players in the demise of former Commons Speaker Michael Martin, made modest claims of no more than £9,974 which included £6,700 for rent. He said: "I have always rented. There is no financial gain to me and no-one has suggested there is. It's quite right that this information should be provided.

"It relates to public money and that is how it should be. The cleaner lets me know which items she has bought. I leave that entirely to her."

Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant claimed £16,282 including £4,674 for food and £7,693 for rent. In July last year, the Tory MP noticed he had inadvertently over-claimed on his May and June allowances by £39 each month after realising his interest only mortgage payment had been reduced from £825 to £786 and asked Commons officials to reduce his claim accordingly. Mr Fabricant also claimed for £39.75 worth of dry cleaning for shirts in July.

The expenses claims were released today on PDF documents. They contain scores of sheets of paper relating to claims. A round-up of claims for the whole year was expected to be released later today after David Cameron complained that the forms were too complicated to be analysed properly.

The expenses saga has dogged the House of Commons – and the parliamentary estate as a whole – since revelations of the widespread abuse of the discredited system first emerged in May.

Some of the notorious claims ranged from phantom mortgages to moats, with the ludicrous including scotch eggs, biscuits, lavatory seats, dog food and trouser presses.

The vast majority of West Midlands MPs escaped any huge controversy from the figures this summer – with claims mainly for furnishings, including for the odd toothbrush, wardrobe, television, etc.

However, Tory MP for Stone, Bill Cash, was drawn into the claims scandal after it emerged he paid his daughter £15,000 in rent from parliamentary expenses – despite owning a flat closer to Westminster.

And Stafford Labour MP David Kidney repaid the taxpayer £2,427 in expense claims after it was revealed to him by the Express & Star that he had been overpaid by Commons officials.

There was a public outcry for action – and transparency. After weeks of futile resistance, the second home allowance claims of Parliament's 646 MPs for 2004 to 2008 were laid bare – but with key details blacked out.

It came a year after the High Court ordered their publication after initial demands under Freedom of Information laws in January 2005 were rejected by MPs and the Commons authorities.

And with the issue no closer to being resolved with probe after probe being launched, it will be a long time before voters are able to forgive and forget. Full details of all the expenses and allowances MPs can pocket will not be published until next year when Sir Thomas Legg is due to publish his report detailing which MPs have owed the taxpayer money.

But in short, nothing much has changed.

It has been a disaster for politics – and the biggest loser in all this has been the taxpayer.