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pa.press.net | |
| Wednesday, 13 May 2009 | |
Minister to repay £41,709 expenses
Minister to repay £41,709 expenses
 |
pa.press.net |
Health minister Phil Hope is to hand back £41,709 in taxpayer-funded MPs expenses.
The money was claimed for furniture, fittings and other items for his second home.
"The anger of my constituents and the damage done to perceptions of my integrity concerning the money I have received to make my London accommodation habitable has been a massive blow to me that I cannot allow to continue," he said.
His decision came after it was announced that more than a million expenses claims by MPs over the past four years are to be scrutinised independently in a desperate bid to restore public trust in politics.
Mr Hope, the Labour MP for Corby and East Northants, insisted that all his claims were within Commons rules but that he needed to repay the money "to try to restore the trust and relationships I have with my constituents".
Gordon Brown backed the "extreme but necessary" measure last night as senior Labour figures started following in the footsteps of Tory frontbenchers by handing over money that they were seen to have "milked" out of the system.
Communities Secretary Hazel Blears said she is responding to public "outrage and the anger" by paying £13,332 in capital gains tax (CGT).
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I wonder, just how much 'Vaccine' for the current epidemic/pandemic, this amount 'could' have paid for!!!!??????????????