Boris repays £1,200 to ‘get on with life’

Boris Johnson has been ordered to pay back £1,266 of expenses he claimed while an MP.

The Mayor received the money for council tax in 2004/5, but the Legg investigation ruled the claim broke the guidelines.

Mr Johnson received a letter ordering the repayment on Tuesday and returned a cheque yesterday. It accused him of "dispassionate judgement of the rules", something that Mr Johnson said he accepted in his response.

His spokesman said: "It was an administrative error over tax. We think it was because it was claimed retrospectively. It was signed off by the fees office at the time, but on review Legg has decided it was not appropriate and Boris decided to pay the cheque and get on with life."

City Hall sources say Mr Johnson doubts the figure is as high as the one Sir Thomas Legg arrived at, believing it to be closer to £700, but thought it was easier to pay rather than appeal.