Former Labour minister suspended over expenses
By politics.co.uk staff
A former minister has been suspended from the parliamentary Labour party, after it was dicovered he claimed mortgage payments up to 18 months after paying back the loan.
Gordon Brown announced the suspension in a speech in Derbyshire launching Labour’s local and European election campaign.
“Where mistakes are made we have got to take action,” he said.
“Where disciplinary action is necessary it will be taken.”
Elliot Morley, former environment minister, claimed £16,000 in mortgage interest. He has since paid back the money and said it was a “mistake”.
Mr Morely reported himself to the standards commissioner.
“He has been suspended from the parliamentary Labour party. He is no longer an advisor on climate change. I gather the further investigations are ones he voluntarily involved himself in,” the prime minister said.
“A full investigation has still to take place that will be held by the committee for parliamentary standards. If information is available, we will take action.”
Mr Brown spoke with Labour’s chief whip – Nick Brown – this morning, but the two decided they needed “more facts” before deciding his fate.
The chief whip gave a live interview with the BBC this afternoon, an extraordinarily rare occurance which goes some way to dramatising the strange and nervous mood permeating Westminster.
“I have done my very best to veriify the facts and I felt it right to suspend him from the privilages and membership of the parliamentary Labour party and give him a chance to clear his name,” he said.
Mr Morely will still have to abide by the whip, but he will loose any ability to affect party policy.
his case does not appear to have been within the rules at all, unlike most of the other claims against MPs.
He is reported to have claimed £800 a month during 2007 for mortgage interest on the property in Scunthorpe, despite Land Registry documents showed that he had paid off the mortgage by March 1st, 2006.
“I do not believe any offence has been committed,” Mr Morely told the Telegraph.
“I have reported this to the finance department and chief whip. I have made a mistake, I apologise for that and I take full responsibility. My priority was to repay and if I suffer financially as a result of that, I have only myself to blame.”
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “We obviously take all these issues extremely seriously.
“It is important that any member is given the opportunity to explain themselves.”
Today, foreign secretary David Miliband apologised for spending just under £30,000 on repairs, decoration and furnishings for his £120,000 home in South Shields over five years.
Fellow Labour man Fabian Hamilton – MP for Leeds North East – is facing questions over his decision to declare his mother’s London home as his main residence, allowing him to direct allowances into his constituency home.
Mr Hamilton said he was staying with his mother – who died in 2005 – because she was gravely ill.
The Conservatives are still not out of the spotlight.
John Maples, one of the party’s deputy chairmen, declared a room in a private members club in Pall Mall as his main home, and then claimed allowances on his Oxfordshire home.
He said he stayed in the room while in-between selling and buying London properties.
