MPs Expenses: £3.5m Of Claims Published By IPSA
An MP had an expense claim rejected after accidentally claiming 20p extra on his mobile phone bill, figures released by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) show.
The smallest amount Ipsa declined to pay was 20p after Manchester Withington MP John Leech, a Liberal Democrat, submitted a claim for £14.42 alongside a mobile telephone bill receipt for just £14.22.
Another 25 MPs had £13.50 stopped from their claims for telephone bills - the value of late payment penalty charges which Ipsa refuses to pay.
The watchdog body published details of £3.5 million of expenses claims by MPs, showing claims made in August and September last year.
Ipsa revealed that 52 claims from 41 MPs were knocked back, in part or in full, because they did not meet its criteria for reimbursement by the taxpayer.
Pat Glass, the Labour MP for North West Durham, had a duplicated £134 council tax claim knocked back.
Plaid Cymru's Jonathan Edwards, MP for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr, also had a duplicated council tax claim, for £73.81, rejected.
MPs also repaid £26,944.97 of previously claimed expenses which they no longer wanted to keep, Ipsa revealed.
It said reasons for repayments included MPs no longer wishing to claim for certain items or being refunded on utility bills or business rates for which they had already been imbursed by the taxpayer.
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PA/The Huffington Post UK First Posted: 12/01/12 11:29 GMT Updated: 12/01/12 18:32 GMT