Salmond claims

Published on Tuesday 2 June 2009 22:01

ALEX Salmond is under pressure to explain his Commons expenses after it emerged that he had claimed the maximum amount for meals at Westminster during a summer when he spent significant periods in Scotland.

It was disclosed several weeks ago that the First Minister claimed 100 a week for meals from the Commons authorities for the two months of the summer recess in 2005, the most he was entitled to.

Yesterday Mr Salmond said he had made the claims because "I was in London in these months".

He added: "That's where I was. I was getting a rented flat in London in that year and that's in the main why I was in London. I was also, for example, at the William Wallace commemoration events which were being held to celebrate the 700th anniversary. These were all legitimate parliamentary events."

But it emerged later that Mr Salmond had spent significant amounts of time in Scotland during this period.

However, a spokesman for Mr Salmond said the First Minister's expense claims would be examined by an independent audit and he was "totally confident" that he would be cleared of any wrongdoing.