MP claimed £2k per month for rent
Stourbridge MP Lynda Waltho has received more than £2,000 in expenses by claiming for rented accommodation, it emerged today.
Stourbridge MP Lynda Waltho has received more than £2,000 in expenses by claiming for rented accommodation, it emerged today.
She claimed £2,166.67 in rent in April and May this year before a cap of £1,250 a month on rent and mortgage claims was imposed by the leaders of the three main parties.
It comes after it was revealed last week that Mrs Waltho's total annual second home allowance is £23,965.27.
The new rent ban was introduced following a public outcry over the MPs expenses scandal.
But many politicians have been paid in excess of the limit claiming they could be sued by their landlords if they suddenly stopped paying the agreed rent. The MP today said she had done nothing wrong and the rent ban applied to new rental agreements.
She said: "The new rules from the Fees Office apply to new rental agreements. My rental agreement was fixed for two years from October 2008.
"The Fees Office was made aware of the agreement, indeed they agreed it at the time of negotiation.
"I am bound in legally to the requirements of the current lease. When the lease is completed I will of course seek a new rental agreement on another property in line with the new rules." The Department of Resources said it had to cut MP's some slack because it was being bombarded by people saying they would be sued by their landlord.
The Express & Star reported last week how Mrs Waltho's second home allowance includes annual food charges at £1,305.
Other claims include £1,161 and £747 at Premier Inn hotel; £243 for bedding from John Lewis including Egyptian cotton sheets priced at £25.
Mrs Waltho has said all of the claims are approved by the Fees Office and consistent with their guidelines. "All expenses were incurred because I have to spend at least three or four nights a week in London away from my home in Stourbridge," she said.
