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MPs' expenses repayments revealed

12:18pm Friday 5th February 2010


THURROCK'S two MPs have emerged relatively unscathed from the latest announcements about MPs' expenses.

Andrew Mackinlay, Labour MP for Thurrock, was ordered to pay back £792 after being overpaid on rent expenses. He has repaid the cash in full.

Mr Mackinlay, who is stepping down at the general election, gave up small the flat he rented in London last year.

Meanwhile East Thurrock's Labour MP Angela Smith has given back £1,428 to the Commons Fees Office for an overpayment of mortgage interest.

Mrs Smith was overpaid the cash for mortgage interest for her second home at the Elephant and Castle in London, between 2004 and 2009. She paid this back in full last June.

Mrs Smith said she didn’t know why the review found discrepancies in her claim, but she paid the money back anyway.

She added “I believe it was clear on my forms what I was claiming for. I always put in the full mortgage receipt and only claimed the interest. I don’t know why or how they have identified an overpayment, but have agreed to pay it back because we need to comply with the findings of the review.”


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Your Say YourThurrock

Freddy K, Grays says...
12:41pm Fri 5 Feb 10

Looks like the majority of the MP's had their hands in the cookie jar.

It is disqusting that these "pillars of society" are allowed to claim in the first place, I agree with claiming genuine business expenses but why can't these people commute like the the rest of us have to.

Some of the claims made were fpr TV licences, bedside furniture, decorating etc, my firm won't pay for these so why the hell do us tax payers pay for these, they should be paid the going rate of pay for their positions and nothing other than genuine business expenses, if the rest of the country have to live within their salary why the can't these greedy pigs.

The report has been set out and these MP's will have to pay it back but what is to stop them putting their noses back into the trough once the dust has settled.

So far there have only been charges under the theft act for 3 Labour MP's and 1 Tory peer, what about the rest of them??

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cynicalasever, Chafford Hundred says...
1:39pm Fri 5 Feb 10

This isn't the same pair of MP's who declared in the Gazette that they hadn't overclaimed for anything. Hmmmm.... Or the same Mr MacKinlay who actually lives in Kingston Upon Thames but, sees fit to rent somewhere near Westminster as well.. Any MP who has overclaimed for anything should not receive there £65,000 pay-off on leaving the commons...

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diggerdave, Chadwell says...
2:30pm Fri 5 Feb 10

cynicalasever wrote:
This isn't the same pair of MP's who declared in the Gazette that they hadn't overclaimed for anything. Hmmmm.... Or the same Mr MacKinlay who actually lives in Kingston Upon Thames but, sees fit to rent somewhere near Westminster as well.. Any MP who has overclaimed for anything should not receive there £65,000 pay-off on leaving the commons...
i agree any mp or councilor claiming a penny more in expenses than they are allowed should get kicked out of office no if no buts!

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karen29, Grays says...
7:59pm Fri 5 Feb 10

How sad that these 2 MPs political careers end on a bad note

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SaveOurStanford, Stanford says...
1:04am Sat 6 Feb 10

WHAT ANNOYS ME IS THE GOVERMENT SAY THEY ARE GETTING TOUGH ON BENEFIT CHEATS ! AND THEN YOU GET OUR OWN MP's TAKING THE P1S5 OUT OF DECENT TAXPAYERS BY CLAIMING EVERY PENNY AND MAKING EVEN ADDING DODGY EXTRAS. SO WE PAY THERE MORTAGES FOR 2 HOMES, ALL THERE FURNITURE AND THE SUPPOSED ALLOWANCES. Oh and not to forget to give there friends & family backhanded jobs.

AND THEY THINK WE WILL SNITCH OUR OWN NEIGHBOURS BUT WE CANT TOUCH THE MP's

WHAT CONFIEDENCE DOES THIS GIVE VOTERS IN THE FORTHCOMING ELECTIONS ?

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pa, Grays says...
8:41am Sat 6 Feb 10

Smith claimed over 19 grand. If she is claiming that was all mortgage interest then that must be one hell of a second home. The interest alone works out at close to half a million quid over 25 years. Still they're worth every penny of our hard earned cash, paragons of virtue that they are. We wouldn't want them slumming it in some council flat or something would we. And heaven forbid that they should have to use public transport to get to work like the rest of us that work in London. This labour government has been the sleaziest that I can remember. There whole time in power has been built on lies and deceit.

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Eddie, aveley says...
9:00am Sat 6 Feb 10

lets for one minute assume that MP's need to be near westminster for their jobs, I think they only have to be there a couple of times a week, WHY do they need homes?? surely the obvious thing would be for a Goverment owned Hotel having 650 rooms, (total number of MP's)_ ok these rooms would be en suite with maybe aa office as well as bedroom. Then any mp could book into his/her room on the nights in question. that would solve all the needs for the second homes, lets face it all they need to do is sleep there. Isn't this the most obvious cost effectivve way to do it. I dont think a single tax payer would object to this.
no duck houses, no moat's no blue films, maybe we could supply the odd bin liner and an orange for those that way enclined.

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diggerdave, Chadwell says...
9:22am Sat 6 Feb 10

see the problem with this idea Eddie is it makes too much sense! Next you will be suggesting that they complete timesheets to show what they do, not get paid £65,000 when they decide not to do it any more and have to explain to the taxpayer how they can get away with a 3 month summer holiday.

I wonder if Surreys favourite son Mackinley ever claimed for those newspapers "he just had to have every day so he knew what was happening" that he complained in parliament about.
Perhaps if he had spent less time talking about his lack of a paperboy and more about Labours lack of support for Thurrock he wouldnt have to chuck it in in fear of losing

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pa, Grays says...
10:33am Sat 6 Feb 10

What did MacKinlay want with a paperboy

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