MP repays £15.95 expenses after nine-month inquiry

The shadow justice minister has been ordered to apologise and repay £15.95 in expenses after a nine-month investigation.

Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter had used free stationery to organise a rally at the Commons in January.

John Lyon, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, ruled that it was a party-political event and fell foul of Commons rules that forbid the use of prepaid envelopes and free headed notepaper for partisan campaigning.

Mr Slaughter today hit out at the Tory rival whose complaint sparked the inquiry, Chelsea and Fulham MP Greg Hands. "The sum involved is just £15 but it probably cost the taxpayer thousands of pounds' worth of man hours to investigate," he said.

"The file is two inches thick. I don't have any criticism of the commissioner, who must investigate complaints whether they are for fifteen quid or fifteen thousand, but clearly Greg Hands's purpose is just to tie me up in paperwork."

The two London MPs are old foes who first clashed as councillors, before fighting over neighbouring Westminster seats.

But Mr Hands said he felt vindicated by the verdict: "Having claimed innocence, he's now been caught red-handed. I'm looking forward to a personal apology."

Tooting MP Sadiq Khan MP, the shadow justice secretary, repaid £173 this year for a political mailshot funded from his Commons allowance, after another complaint from Mr Hands.