Brown repays £180 in expenses row

12 April 2012

Gordon Brown repaid more than £180 to the Commons Fees Office following fresh claims about his Commons expenses, it has been disclosed.

The Daily Telegraph reported the Prime Minister "flipped" the designation of his second home from his London flat to his Scottish constituency home when he moved into a Downing Street grace-and-favour apartment in September 2006.

The paper, which has obtained the details of all MPs expenses, said that he went on to submit an electricity bill for his home in Fife which partly covered a period when London was still his designated second home.

He was also said to have claimed for council tax and service charge bills for his London home which included periods when his second home was in Scotland - charges he denied.

In a statement, a spokesman for Mr Brown said that he had agreed to repay £181.88 "for the avoidance of doubt".

"Mr Brown is following all the rules and procedures of the Fees Office and has already apologised for any inadvertent mistakes," the spokesman said. "If, of course, the full investigation that Mr Brown has ordered (that will apply to every MP) suggests that there is any adjustment which needs to be made, he will make it."

In relation to the detailed claims by the paper, the spokesman said: "On electricity, the first bill was - as it stated - an estimate, and could not reflect the actual consumption in the period in question.

"Mr Brown and the Fees Office have checked the best estimates of units used from September 18 to the end of the year. In fact, as the second bill for £12.25 (only for the standing charge) showed, alongside the statements Mr Brown has from his electricity company of units used in these periods, almost all the consumption was in the autumn and winter months. But for the avoidance of doubt Mr Brown has made a repayment of £95 agreed with the Fees Office.

"In Great Smith Street (the London flat) for the period April 1 to September 17 2006, only three months service charge was claimed for a five and a half month period. In the total service charge claimed from 2004-2006, there is an overall under-claim. However for the avoidance of doubt Mr Brown last month made a repayment of £86.88 covering 12 days in 2006.

"On council tax, the calculation through the years for council tax is completely consistent year-to-year, and accepted by the Fees Office. On repairs, there is no double-claim. Not only have all the papers mentioned here been in the public domain for more than 12 months but this issue was covered in the Daily Telegraph 23 May 2008. The claims for payment were consistent with work done from February to May 2005, i.e. spanning two financial years."

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