Legg letter: State of play
The current high-profile victims of letters from Sir Thomas Legg.
Details of which MPs have to pay back money or provide further information of their expenses claims are still hard to come by, especially since reliable rumours of whips calling on MPs to stay silent spread through Westminster like wildfire. Here’s what we know so far about the big players. This page will be updated at regular intervals.
Douglas Hogg
The man who came to define the expenses scandal seems to have got away scot free. Despite claiming £2,000 to have his moat cleared, he has not been asked to repay a penny to the taxpayer, although he has been asked for more information. He had previously paid back over £2,000.
Gordon Brown
The prime minister has to pay back £12,415. The figure includes £10,716.60 for cleaning, £302.50 for gardening and £1,396 for painting and decorating. He still managed to put it behind him last night and call on all Labour MPs to pay back what they were asked to, however.
David Cameron
The Conservative leader has to provide some more information about why he paid back claims on his mortgage. He downplayed it yesterday and so far he’s staying pretty clean. His tough words on GMTV this morning didn’t hurt either.
Nick Clegg
The Lib Dem leader will repay £910 for gardening costs. With all the big numbers swilling around, that can’t be too upsetting.
Alistair Darling
The chancellor was told to repay £554 spent on a chest of drawers, together with some proof of his mortgage interest payments.
David Miliband
The foreign secretary will be repaying £434 following a “bureaucratic error” concerning mortgage interest.
Jack Straw
Reports indicate the justice secretary will be repaying £600 after a mistake led to him being paid twice in 2004.
Alex Salmond
The SNP leader will be repaying £710.88 he spent on removals when moving from London to Aberdeenshire in 2007. He’ll also need to supply some extra details on his hotel stays.
Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper
This Cabinet couple fell into the category of MPs who need to pay back money – just. Sir Thomas’ scrutinies identified a “miscalculation on total mortgage interest claims” worth a shocking £13.50.
John Bercow
The Commons’ new Speaker, tasked with leading parliament out of the mire, has had his mortgage queried by Sir Thomas.
Ken Clarke
Gardening and cleaning claims have led to a request to repay £4,733. He remains jovial about the issue as ever, unlike most other MPs, but is still negotiating on precisely how much he will repay.
Cheryl Gillan
The shadow Wales secretary has fallen into two categories – she’s been asked to provide more information as well as pay back £1,884.23 on her mortgage.
