Hamilton MP told to repay £1630 following expenses review

Oct 22 2009 by Alastair McNeill, Hamilton Advertiser

JIMMY Hood has been ordered to repay £1630 following the review of MPs’ expenses.

The Lanark and Hamilton East MP blamed an “obvious mistake” for being paid the money TWICE.

The error was spotted by Sir Thomas Legg, the retired senior civil servant tasked with reviewing MPs’ expenses claims following the furore earlier this year.

In letters sent out by Sir Thomas last week, MPs learned whether they would be required to pay back expenses.

Sir Thomas had scrutinised claims made by MPs under the Additional Costs Allowance.

It allows MPs to obtain recompense for expenses required to maintain a second home, and has been open to abuse.

Earlier this year, Mr Hood published details of his expenses which showed that he had claimed more than £115,000 from the ACA between 2001 and 2007.

Mr Hood explained this week that Sir Thomas had noticed during his review that the £1630 had been paid out to him twice.

He pointed out that the sum was a duplicate March 2007 expense claim which had been made ‘inadvertently’ when he had been winding up his affairs at the end of that financial year.

The MP said: “This was an obvious mistake and I have written to Sir Thomas making good the overpayment.”

Sir Thomas is also looking for details on claims Mr Hood has made for mortgage interest.

The MP said: “He’s looking for figures from the mortgage lender on the amount of interest on mortgage payments.

“I can’t speak for every MP, but from my knowledge that’s what he wants from everyone who has got a mortgage.”

Mr Hood also described Sir Thomas’s review as a “necessary event to bring the MPs’ expenses debacle to a conclusion.”

Items charged to the taxpayer by Mr Hood had included two sat navs, including accessories and fitting valued at almost £600, a £475 SLR digital camera, a £489 26-inch widescreen tv and a £299 washer-drier.

The cost of tax advice from an accountant, costing £2625, was also claimed as expenses by Mr Hood.

After the claims were detailed by the Advertiser in July, the MP accused the newspaper of conducting a “smear campaign” because it had not mentioned he had not ‘flipped second homes or avoided Capital Gains Tax’.

And he felt prominence should have been given to the fact that his expenses ranked him 345th out of 645 MPs, and 44th out of 59 Scottish MPs.

l THREE other Lanarkshire MPs will not have to repay any cash as a result of the expenses review.

They are Adam Ingram (East Kilbride), Tommy McAvoy (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) and Frank Roy (Motherwell and Wishaw).

Mr McAvoy had claimed up to £400 a month on food and £1132 for mortgage interest payments since February 2005 and twice claimed for the cost of a TV licence.

In July 2006, Mr Roy bought a £750 television and claimed the money back on expenses.

Following receipt of Sir Thomas Legg’s letter, the three MPs pointed out that they will not be required to pay back money claimed on expenses.

Sir Thomas Legg, however, has asked Mr Roy to resubmit paperwork which had been mislaid by the House of Commons fees office.

l To have your say on the MPs expenses row email jrowbotham@s-un.co.uk or write to the Hamilton Advertiser.