SCANDAL-HIT MP Ben Chapman went to ground last night as his career hung in the balance following exposure of his secret £15,000 mortgage pay-out.

The Wirral South MP refused to answer questions on the revelation he deliberately over-claimed on a home loan he had partially paid off – or give any commitment to pay it back. The Labour backbencher could learn whether he will be suspended from the Parliamentary party as early as today. A senior Labour source said: “All options are being considered.”

Meanwhile, Labour’s ruling national executive committee will be urged to decide today how it plans to de-select MPs who have made outrageous expenses claims.

Mr Chapman, who won a sensational 1997 by-election – but defends a wafer-thin majority of just 3,724 in Wirral South – is the latest MP to be dragged into the deepening expenses scandal.

The Daily Telegraph revealed he claimed expenses for part of a mortgage he had already repaid on his London property, reporting that he received £15,000 over 10 months.

It said Mr Chapman paid off £295,000 of the loan in 2002, but continued claiming mortgage interest payments on the entire mortgage – with the agreement of the fees office.

Ambushed by TV cameras outside the home early yesterday, Mr Chapman said he was “extremely distressed” and insisted he had been “entirely open and above board with the authorities and Parliament”.

But he refused to respond to telephone calls. Asked if he would explain his expenses claims, an aide replied: “I cannot say any more other than what has been placed on Mr Chapman’s website.”

Two other Labour backbenchers – Elliot Morley and David Chaytor – have already been suspended by the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) after claiming for mortgages they had already settled.

Mr Chapman’s case is different, because he apparently revealed his changed circumstances to the Commons authorities, which agreed his claims.

However, Nick Brown, Labour’s chief whip, has asked for a full report from the fees office, after holding face-to-face talks with Mr Chapman yesterday.