MSP Foulkes defends £44,000 Lords expenses claim

Published on Saturday 19 December 2009 19:18

LORD Foulkes, the only MSP who is also a peer, has been criticised for claiming almost £44,000 in House of Lords expenses in 2008-9.

Foulkes, Labour MSP for the Lothians, claimed an average of 635 for each of the 69 days that he attended the Lords in the most recent financial year. According to figures recently released by the Westminster authorities, he claimed 17,823 in overnight subsistence, 5,684 in day subsistence, 9,052 in office costs, 69 for postage and 11,249 in travel expenses.

The expenses are in addition to the 55,000 salary he draws for being a list MSP.

Under the Holyrood expenses system, he claimed 3,656 – making him one of the lowest claimants at the Scottish Parliament.

Foulkes has long argued politicians should be well rewarded and once said that an MP's salary of 64,000 was "ridiculously low".

When defending politicians' pay, he famously got the BBC news presenter Carrie Gracie to disclose she earned 92,000.

He has also been criticised for attempting to do two jobs at the same time.

Yesterday Angus MacNeil, the SNP MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, said: "Lord Foulkes has the cheek to criticise other people's pay while pocketing over 40,000 for himself. As everyone sees budgets tightening and feels the impact of London's spending squeeze, it seems Labour's Lords are exempt. With costs increasing for every day they spend in their ermine, it's time this unelected retirement home came to an end."

But Foulkes defended his expenses claim, pointing out that he did important work on the Lords' Intelligence and Security Committee.

He said: "The Nationalists are total hypocrites on this. I think I can do both jobs very well, unlike Alex Salmond who has three jobs as an MSP, MP and First Minister.

"No-one has questioned my work rate as an MSP. In fact, they have complained that I am working too hard.

"I suppose I could do a bit better in the Lords if I was down there more often, but I do important work on the Intelligence and Security Committee . I would question whether Salmond does a good job, especially since he is supposed to be representing constituents in Banff and Buchan.

"At Holyrood, I take taxis everywhere and pay for them myself. I don't claim these in the Scottish Parliament, because I don't need to do so. I do a bloody good job."

The Lords expenses were published this month and also revealed that Lord Watson of Invergowrie, who was convicted of fire-raising, claimed more than 44,000.

MacNeil said: "It suits a disgraced Lord to have disgraceful expenses. Watson lost the respect of the public a long time ago but he still feels free to claim their taxes for his expenses."

Watson was drunk when he set fire to curtains in Prestonfield House in 2004 and claimed he had no memory of the incident. The damage cost 4,500 to repair. He was unavailable for comment.