Liam Fox ordered to repay £22k in expenses after losing appeal

Published on Tuesday 16 March 2010 22:03

CONSERVATIVE frontbencher Dr Liam Fox has been ordered to pay back £22,000 after he lost an appeal over his expenses.

• Dr Liam Fox: Had challenged ruling, but appeal was rejected. Picture: PA

Dr Fox, the shadow defence secretary, was one of 14 current and former MPs who learned of the ruling from former High Court judge Sir Paul Kennedy on their appeals over returning expenses.

They had challenged the ruling made by Sir Thomas Legg over the sums of money they had to return to the public purse.

However, there was relatively good news for one former Scottish Labour MP who saw the money he had to return reduced. John Lyons, the former MP for Strathkelvin and Bearsden, was originally ordered to hand back 18,870 of mortgage payments, but this was reduced to 11,004.

Five MPs had their appeals rejected altogether, including communities minister Shahid Malik, who was overpaid by 1,340 in expenses for council tax and a TV at his second home.

Meanwhile, there was anger when it was revealed that the Parliament's elections watchdog spent more than 80,000 on legal advice during its inquiry into the Conservative Party's non-dom deputy chairman, Lord Ashcroft.