Expenses peers face suspension

THREE peers are set to pay back almost £200,000 and face suspensions of up to 18 months after being found guilty of abusing expenses rules, according to reports.

In the first major ruling against members of the House of Lords since the parliamentary expenses scandal was uncovered 18 months ago, two Labour peers and a cross bencher are expected to be officially reprimanded by the house's standards and privileges committee this week.

The trio include the UK's first female Muslim peer, Labour's Baroness Uddin.

One of Britain's richest men and another Labour peer Lord Paul has also been found guilty, while the third is cross-bencher Lord Bhatia, who although a cross-bencher, is a known Labour Party donor.

The investigations followed revelations that the peers had claimed up to 174 for overnight stays in London, meant for those whose main home is outside the M25, even though they did actually live in the capital.

Lady Uddin has agreed to pay back 125,000, and is expected to face a 12 to 18 month suspension from the House of Lords.

The committee found that she claimed her main home was a flat in Kent, rather than the family home she was living in, just four miles from Westminster.

She was claiming 30,000 a year in expenses yet neighbours at the property in Maidstone, Kent, said they rarely saw her.

The former deputy leader of Tower Hamlets Council in East London was born in Bangladesh and moved to London with her family at the age of 13.

She became the youngest women peer in the House of Lords in 1998.

Earlier in the year police investigations into her and Lord Paul's expenses were dropped.

Indian-born British businessman Lord Paul, who has a family fortune of about 550million, is thought to have already paid back 40,000 after claiming his main home was a flat in the back of a hotel he owned.

The flat was in fact occupied by the manager of the hotel, and Lord Paul admitted he had never slept there.

The committee is expected to suspend him for between four and six months.

Businessman and millionaire Lord Bhatia, who is been prominent in the creation of charities supporting black and ethnic minority communities, is set to repay 27,000 after claiming that his main home was a flat owned by his brother.

When approached by journalists last year to ask about the flat in Reigate Surrey, Lord Bhatia could not remember the address.

He has lived in his 1.5million south London family home for 20 years.

He is likely to face a suspension of between six and 12 months.

Other peers are facing criminal charges in relation to expenses.

Conservative peer Lord Hanningfield has been charged with false accounting for claims for overnight accommodation.

Another Conservative peer Lord Taylor of Warwick, has plead not guilty to false accounting in relation to subsidence claims.

Peers can now claim 300 a day for "clocking in", with no receipts or hotel bills needed to claim back expenses.