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East Lancashire MPs told to repay £6.8k in expenses (From Blackburn Citizen)
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East Lancashire MPs told to repay £6.8k in expenses
3:05pm Thursday 4th February 2010
EAST LANCASHIRE MPs have repaid more than £6,800 in Parliamentary expenses, it has been revealed.
A report by former civil servant Sir Thomas Legg has been published, showing for the first time his audit of members’ claims.
Sir Thomas had been asked to review MPs’ historic claims following the public outcry when details of the allowances system were uncovered last year.
Five East Lancashire MPs were asked to return money, which has all been repaid.
Outgoing Burnley Labour MP Kitty Ussher was the only one from East Lancashire MP to formally appeal against her Legg letter. She told Sir Paul Kennedy, the judge in charge of the appeals process, she had not known about the limit because it was set retrospectively.
In his response Sir Paul admitted it was 'most unfortunate' she had not been aware of it, but dismissed her appeal because there were 'no special circumstances'. This week she repaid £1,271.65.
The largest repayment of East Lancashire MPs came from Pendle MP Gordon Prentice, who was asked to return £2,620.95 in mortgage interest claims made over three years.
For the first time it was also revealed Hyndburn MP Greg Pope had repaid a total of £1,331.13. The Legg review had only identified an overpayment of £166.79, relating to mortgage interest.
Mr Pope, who is standing down at the general election, said: “At all times I have sought to conduct myself with honesty and this report confirms that.”
Meanwhile, Blackburn MP Jack Straw repaid £600 after Sir Thomas found that part of his 2004 allowances had been “incorrectly added up”, and Ribble Valley Tory MP Nigel Evans paid back a total of £1,030.31. This included £858.33 requested by Legg for duplicate rent and service charge payments and extra amounts identified by the MP’s own audit of his claims.
Janet Anderson, who represents Rossendale and Darwen, and Chorley MP Lindsay Hoyle were both told they had “no issues” by Sir Thomas.
Across the country the demands for repayment total £1.1million, although a number of MPs made successful appeals against his findings.
Jack Straw, Blackburn
CLAIMED: 2008/09 totalled £6,275. Taxpayers paid for book shelves, a shelf and wall light and book cases at his Blackburn home.
PAID BACK: £600 after Sir Thomas Legg found part of his 2004 allowances were ‘incorrectly added up’.
Kitty Ussher, Burnley
CLAIMED: Her £23,671.21 claims for 2008/09 included £16,000 for a new kitchen.
PAID BACK: £1,271.65 because her claim for a new kitchen in 2008 exceeded the retrospective limits set by the Legg review.
Janet Anderson, Darwen and Rossendale
CLAIMED: In 2008/09 she claimed £24,006 in second home expenses, including £4,400 for food and £504 in dry cleaning bills.
PAID BACK: Was not asked to repay anything.
Greg Pope, Hyndburn
CLAIMED: In 2008/09 he claimed £21,613, the majority of which on £18,000 of mortgage interest on his London second home.
PAID BACK: £1,331.13 in total. The Legg review only identified an overpayment of £166.79, relating to mortgage interest.
Gordon Prentice, Pendle
CLAIMED: Claimed £19,381.88 in 2008/09, including £3,565 for groceries and £100 for cleaning products.
PAID BACK: £2,620.95 in mortgage interest claims.
Nigel Evans, Ribble Valley
CLAIMED: Total claim for 2008/09 was £21,181, including mortgage interest of £1,333 a month.
PAID BACK: £1,030.31, which included £858.33 requested by Legg for duplicate rent and service charges.
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Your Say YourCitizen
bettysenior, huddersfield says...
3:19pm Thu 4 Feb 10
Dr David Hill
World Innovation Foundation Charity
ROBERTSLUMDWELLER, NELSON says...
4:05pm Thu 4 Feb 10
nosimongarner, Clitheroe says...
4:17pm Thu 4 Feb 10
chrislancs, gt. harwood says...
4:53pm Thu 4 Feb 10
Chris Reid PPC
English Democrats
Hyndburn
ossy, Oswaldtwistle says...
5:17pm Thu 4 Feb 10
akon wrote:I agree akon if it was one of the general public they would have been prosecuted and locked up.
THIEVES & LIARS !! Nothing else. But no charges brought?
pull some strings, ROSSENDALE says...
10:09pm Thu 4 Feb 10
She's been ripping Rossendale off for years.
Mikeee47, Padiham says...
9:25am Fri 5 Feb 10
they should have done the honourable thing in the 1st instance resigned from office, & pay back in full yet some of these leeches still feel they have a right to appeal, If the boot was on the other foot & members of the General public had done this , examples would have been made.
I hope the CPS do the right thing and prosecute, after today, these MPs think they are above the law
Excluded, Darwen says...
10:40am Fri 5 Feb 10
pull some strings wrote:And yet Janet Anderson is one of the two MPs who have not been told that they have to pay anything back.
They should lock Janet Anderson MP up anyway.
She's been ripping Rossendale off for years.
If we are going to 'lock up' even those MPs who have not breached the rules, not only as they operated at the time but as they have been retrospectively tightened where does this leave us?
Pull Some Strings view seems to be: treat them all the same whether they have done anything wrong or not. It doesn't matter what you have done or not done you are guilty anyway.
RAyzer, BURNLEY says...
11:44am Fri 5 Feb 10
anyonetherenow, Accrington says...
12:29pm Fri 5 Feb 10
CLAIMED: In 2008/09 she claimed £24,006 in second home expenses, including £4,400 for food and £504 in dry cleaning bills.
PAID BACK: Was not asked to repay anything.
BUT - Thursday 14th February. Lancashire Evening Telegraph wrote the following:
AN EAST Lancs MP has repaid £5,700 she overclaimed in petty cash. And Janet Anderson, Labour MP for Rossendale and Darwen, denied it was a 'secret deal'.
It has emerged that Mrs Anderson was one of 16 MPs allowed to make a repayment 'informally' to standards commissioner John Lyon.
This has sparked criticism nationally, but she said: “It was never an intentional breach of the rules, and I assumed because it was never challenged it was in order.
“But at the end of the day it is my responsibility and I will repay it.”
PLEASE - Lancashire Evening Telegraph, do a little research before publishing wrong facts!
floydbrfc, accrington says...
1:40pm Fri 5 Feb 10
Gaius Grossus, Accrington says...
4:00pm Fri 5 Feb 10
DaveBurnley, Burnley says...
8:04pm Fri 5 Feb 10
floydbrfc wrote:Good point floyd, but then our wise leaders would point out that their wrong claim was down to an 'oversight' whereas benefit wrong claims are evil and must be prosecuted.
it isnt a million years ago i was hearing ,shop a benefit cheat being spouted out from government sources ! you coudnt make it up could you ,i hope some of you vile scum read this and one day get what you deserve you parasitic scum
amazed, Darwen says...
10:30pm Fri 5 Feb 10
Janet Anderson may be left off his list because she has paid back about £6,000 which she "innocently claimed in error"
My goodness, how she can claim all those miles and second home allowances on a end of terrace house "in the Sunnyhurst area" (I know where she lives but will keep it a state secret!!) and not be indicted, I just do not know. Come on, Jake Berry, get that "lady" out of here!!
disgusted tunbridge wells, rossendale says...
10:53pm Fri 5 Feb 10
retired one, Blackburn says...
11:32pm Fri 5 Feb 10
One law for them and another one for us.
whereistedward, darwen says...
3:05pm Sat 6 Feb 10
DaveBurnley wrote:It's not a good point at all !! Many people that claim benefits often receive overpayments. They are then asked to pay these overpayments back over a period of time. They are not prosecuted at all.
floydbrfc wrote: it isnt a million years ago i was hearing ,shop a benefit cheat being spouted out from government sources ! you coudnt make it up could you ,i hope some of you vile scum read this and one day get what you deserve you parasitic scumGood point floyd, but then our wise leaders would point out that their wrong claim was down to an 'oversight' whereas benefit wrong claims are evil and must be prosecuted.
The people that are prosecuted aere those who have told lies on the forms or deliberately broken the rules.
It's the same with MP's. The ones who have allegedly deliberately broken the rules are being prosecuted. The others are being asked to pay back money. The House of Commons authorities have authorised these payments. As Gaius states above - the officials are to blame for sanctioning any payments that were against the rules.
floydbrfc, accrington says...
5:22pm Sat 6 Feb 10
The people that are prosecuted aere those who have told lies on the forms or deliberately broken the rules.
It's the same with MP's. The ones who have allegedly deliberately broken the rules are being prosecuted. The others are being asked to pay back money. The House of Commons authorities have authorised these payments. As Gaius states above - the officials are to blame for sanctioning any payments that were against the rules.
DaveBurnley wrote:It's not a good point at all !! Many people that claim benefits often receive overpayments. They are then asked to pay these overpayments back over a period of time. They are not prosecuted at all. The people that are prosecuted aere those who have told lies on the forms or deliberately broken the rules. It's the same with MP's. The ones who have allegedly deliberately broken the rules are being prosecuted. The others are being asked to pay back money. The House of Commons authorities have authorised these payments. As Gaius states above - the officials are to blame for sanctioning any payments that were against the rules.floydbrfc wrote: it isnt a million years ago i was hearing ,shop a benefit cheat being spouted out from government sources ! you coudnt make it up could you ,i hope some of you vile scum read this and one day get what you deserve you parasitic scumGood point floyd, but then our wise leaders would point out that their wrong claim was down to an 'oversight' whereas benefit wrong claims are evil and must be prosecuted.
WRONG i personally know of two cases were prosecutions were brought regardless of what was paid back ,one of which resuled in a custodial sentence ,but thats not really the point i was trying to make ,its the sheer hypocrasy of people who make up the rules shafting the taxpayer with very little chance of being held accountable
whereistedward, darwen says...
9:35pm Sat 6 Feb 10
disgusted tunbridge wells wrote:If you want to know just look it up on the internet ! But it will be a lot less than a couple who are both headteachers at a high school or a couple who are senior council officers. How much do the senior officers of Rossendale Borough Council get paid ??
I wonder what Anderson and her "partner" get between them a year
Obviously, you think MP's should do the job for nothing, - even multi-millionaires David Cameron & George Osborne get paid you know!!
whereistedward, darwen says...
9:46pm Sat 6 Feb 10
amazed wrote:Janet Anderson can't win can she.....she isn't on Legg's list and gets criticised nevertheless ! Do you roundly condemn those Tory MP's on the list ? Will you be rooting for the Labour (or Lib-Dem) opposition to beat those Tory ''ladies'' & ''gentlemen'' ?? Cameron had to pay money back (claiming for removing wisteria !!). Will you be backing the Labour candidate in his constituency ? I think not !!
All I can say is SACK Sir Thomas Legg. Janet Anderson may be left off his list because she has paid back about £6,000 which she "innocently claimed in error" My goodness, how she can claim all those miles and second home allowances on a end of terrace house "in the Sunnyhurst area" (I know where she lives but will keep it a state secret!!) and not be indicted, I just do not know. Come on, Jake Berry, get that "lady" out of here!!
Will Joke Berry (who ??) still live in the constituency (he has bought a house in Helmshore) if he loses ? All the recent Tory candidates in Rossendale & Darwen have left the area as soon as they lost ! The Tories could have chosen a local candidate, but instead chose Joke Berry, who isn't exactly a local is he ?
anyonetherenow, Accrington says...
10:09pm Sat 6 Feb 10
AN EAST Lancs MP has repaid £5,700 she overclaimed in petty cash. And Janet Anderson, Labour MP for Rossendale and Darwen, denied it was a 'secret deal'.
It has emerged that Mrs Anderson was one of 16 MPs allowed to make a repayment 'informally' to standards commissioner John Lyon.
This has sparked criticism nationally, but she said: “It was never an intentional breach of the rules, and I assumed because it was never challenged it was in order.
“But at the end of the day it is my responsibility and I will repay it.”
time.team, Blackburn says...
3:37pm Sun 7 Feb 10
Our so called Labour Party is in fact The Blair Party, hence the New Labour name. The sooner we realise that fact the sooner we will be able to vote for individuals who we can trust. Do you honestly think for one moment that the actions of our very own Janet Anderson & Jack Straw can honestly represent the original Labour name?
* We don’t know who we vote for any more!
DaveBurnley, Burnley says...
9:11pm Sun 7 Feb 10
The biggest shame is that Kitty Usher has run away before the voters of Burnley could give her the kicking she has truly earned.
amazed, Darwen says...
6:40pm Mon 8 Feb 10
I thought I would get some response from you. First of all if you do not know Jake Berry how do you know he lives in Helmshore? The house is his main home and is in the constituency which as you know is (for our sins) Rossendale and Darwen.
Janet Anderson has milked the system - for a start she had the highest claim for mileage in the whole country (must be a bind driving out to Whitworth to drum up support) I believe she also claimed for 3 toilet seats in one year - is that true? If it is she must have a lot of visitors who spend a lot of time in the smallest room in the house!! I have no sympathy whatsoever for any of the Tory MPs who have transgressed but I think you are splitting hairs when you talk about Cameron claiming for Wisteria!! If you had quoted cleaning moats and duck houses I could have understood - disgraceful . It is just the whole principle that was at fault and the people who passed these expenses (overawed?) that want sacking along with Sir Thos. Legg.
REVIEW: Sir Thomas Legg
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akon, padiham says...
3:16pm Thu 4 Feb 10
Nothing else.
But no charges brought?