Monday, February 17, 2014

MPs’ expenses: Maria Miller criticised for £90,000 claim by parliamentary watchdog




‘Maria Miller, the Culture Secretary, has been criticised by parliamentary standards officials for claiming mortgage repayments and other expenses associated with a large detached property in south London.

Kathryn Hudson, the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner, began her inquiry following a Telegraph investigation into the Culture Secretary’s expense claims in December 2012.

Her critical report is likely to provoke a row on the committee of MPs which will ultimately decide on Mrs Miller’s fate.

In 2009, Tony McNulty, the Labour Home Office minister, was severely reprimanded for letting his parents live in his taxpayer funded second home. He resigned shortly after it emerged that he had let his parents live in his taxpayer-funded home.

In Mr McNulty’s case, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards ruled that second homes must be “exclusively” for the use of MPs in fulfilling their parliamentary duties and that housing a politician’s parents was “specifically prohibited” by the rules.’

Read more: MPs' expenses: Maria Miller criticised for £90,000 claim by parliamentary watchdog