Tory MP will pay back his £12,000 expenses

Published on 27/05/2009 00:31

COMMONS deputy speaker Sir Alan Haselhurst last night said he would repay £12,000 in expenses "out of respect to my constituents".

He made the announcement as Daily Telegraph associate editor Simon Heffer – a constituent in Tory Sir Alan's Saffron Walden seat in Essex – said he would stand against him if he did not repay the money, reportedly spent on his country house garden.

The paper published details of Sir Alan's claims as part of its series of revelations of MPs' expenses, which also showed a Tory MP spent 500 of taxpayers' money on pot plants and bushes for his garden and 1,900 on redecorating his second home, which he sold for a 280,000 profit.

John Greenway also claimed for a 59p box of matches, two boxes of firelighters worth 99p each, four bags of compost, a trellis and plant food for the London property, it was reported.

Mr Greenway, an MP since 1987, said: "All the claims which I have made over my 22 years in parliament have been made in good faith and were approved by the fees office without query."

Meanwhile, Tory MPs embroiled in the expenses scandal will soon know their fate.

Tory leader David Cameron said the party's "scrutiny panel" would complete its investigation and some MPs could face deselection.