Andrew Mitchell MP defends childrens’ travel expenses claim
The MP said all the items had been intended for his Birmingham home and were now there.
Under Commons rules, MPs are allowed to reclaim the cost of furnishings in their designated second home.
But receipts obtained by a national newspaper showed that some items were delivered to the surgery in London where his wife Sharon, a doctor, works.
Asked to explain this, Mr Mitchell said: “Some items were delivered to my wife’s surgery as during the day neither our London nor Sutton homes are occupied. They are now in the Sutton Coldfield house.”
Other claims highlighted by the newspaper included £9,000 in cleaning and garden maintenance bills claimed at the constituency home over four years, and £12,000 for “repair and renewals” including a new boiler, wallpaper and redecoration.
Mr Mitchell said: “I have a cleaning and gardening maintenance contract with a local company. The claims for gardening costs are only for gardening maintenance.”
He added: “When we bought our home in Sutton Coldfield in 2000 we obviously furnished it ourselves. Over the last nine years there have been a number of repairs, redecorations and renewals including a small amount of furniture – some of which I have paid for on the second homes allowance.”
The MP admitted wrongly submitting a claim of £68 for the cost of one of his daughters travelling to Grantham, in Lincolnshire. He said this claim was made in error and the money was repaid in 2004-5.
