A JUNIOR minister announced last night he will return more than £40,000 in taxpayer-funded allowances, as the total repaid by MPs caught up in the expenses scandal passed the £100,000 mark.
Phil Hope’s move came as Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on MPs to prove themselves “worthy of the public’s trust” by putting right mistakes made over allowances and creating a new system that will be seen as “wholly fair”.
The Corby and East Northants MP said he will return £41,709 claimed for furniture and fittings for his second home.
“The anger of my constituents and the damage done to perceptions of my integrity concerning the money I have received to make my London accommodation habitable has been a massive blow to me that I cannot allow to continue.”
In a subdued session of Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, Mr Brown was challenged over his leadership in the expenses affair by David Cameron, who called for all MPs’ claims to be published online.
And MPs heard a warning from Tony Wright, the chairman of the Commons Public Administration Committee, that history will remember them as “the Moat Parliament” or “the Manure Parliament”.
