Senior Tories face grilling as expenses row rages on

Published on Monday 11 May 2009 10:01

A LARGE part of Tory leader David Cameron's top team was dragged into the Commons expenses row today.

The latest revelations included one senior Conservative MP claiming cash from the taxpayer for servicing his Aga and being reimbursed for a leaking pipe under his tennis court and another carrying out improvements to his thatched cottage before selling it.

The Daily Telegraph turned its attention to Conservative MPs after three days of detailing claims by Labour politicians.

The paper said Oliver Letwin, the man in charge of drawing up the Tories' general election manifesto, claimed more than 2000 to replace a leaking pipe under his tennis court. The taxpayer also picked up the tab for regular services to his Aga cooker.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley apparently renovated a Tudor thatched cottage on the taxpayer tab shortly before selling it.

Several top Tories were also alleged to have engaged in the tactic of "flipping" property designations – switching to claim more allowances.

Among them was shadow schools secretary Michael Gove, who spent 7000 over five months on a London property, before buying a house in Surrey and claiming thousand of pounds on that.

Shadow Leader of the House Alan Duncan reportedly ran up a 4000 bill on gardening, before being warned by officials that the spending "could be considered excessive".

Shadow Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan was forced to apologise last night after admitting she had put through dog food on expenses.

Mr Cameron reacted swiftly last night by issuing an apology for his party's involvement with Westminster's discredited allowances regime.

But there will be relief at Conservative Central Office that he and the Tories' other two top figures, shadow foreign secretary William Hague and shadow chancellor George Osborne, seem to have escaped unscathed.

Mr Cameron said it was going to be "another bad day for parliament and frankly another bad day for the Conservative Party".

"We are sorry that this happened and it needs to change," he added.

The Daily Telegraph's latest revelations emerged as the Commons authorities mounted a desperate rearguard action to restore public confidence in the expenses system. A new independent audit unit – costing 600,000 a year – will take over scrutiny of claims.

Meanwhile First Minister Alex Salmond has defended his expenses claims, which showed that in 2007-8, he voted on only six days in the Commons yet claimed 1751.50 for food.

His claim included 800 for food in August and September 2005, when the Commons was on its summer recess.