MP Duncan apologises over expenses

A county MP has apologised after it was revealed he had made expenses claims worth thousands of pounds for work on his garden.

Alan Duncan, MP for Melton and Rutland, said he understood why the public was so angry and that all MPs "should be ashamed" for allowing parliament's controversial allowances system to spiral out of control.

He spoke out after the Daily Telegraph revealed yesterday that he tried to claim back more than £7,000 for gardening expenses over three years.

Officials in the parliamentary fees office refused to pay out for a claim of £3,194, in 2007, which they told Mr Duncan might not be "within the spirit of the rules".

The rest of the claims, which were accepted, went on paying a gardener £6 an hour to work 16 hours a week. In March 2007, he also claimed £598 to maintain his ride-on lawnmower and £41 to fix a puncture on it a month later.

He said: "I understand that people are really incredibly angry about this issue. I personally am very sorry about it.

"I think all MPs should be ashamed and every MP should apologise for the system that they've allowed to grow up without realising that this system is completely unfit for the modern age.

"Our responsibility now is to do our best to restore the trust of the public, which has been so badly undermined."

Mr Duncan is also said to have claimed £1,400 a month for mortgage interest on his home in Rutland. He bought the large detached house, in January 1992, shortly before he was elected to Parliament.

Mr Duncan said he had taken out a mortgage on his London home to buy the Rutland house. He then switched the loan to Rutland in 2004.

Today, Mr Duncan defended his expenses and said he had been transparent and broke no rules.

He said: "I was the first MP ever to publish his expenses in full, which I did in 2004. In January, I forced a U-turn from the Government which ensured that these receipts would be published and not exempted from Freedom of Information laws. I have always tried to set up a model office with the highest possible standards."

Yesterday, another Leicestershire MP was also criticised for his expense claims. Keith Vaz, who represents Leicester East, made claims on his second homes totalling more than £80,000 over four years.

Mr Vaz, who is chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, declined to speak directly to the Leicester Mercury about his expenses, but his spokeswoman said: "All Mr Vaz's claims are fully in keeping with the Green Book, which sets out what MPs can claim. If they were not, they would not have been paid."

According to documents leaked to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Vaz claimed more than £69,000 over a three-year period between 2004 and 2007 for a Westminster flat, despite his family home being a £1million house just 12 miles from Parliament. The money was used to pay for monthly mortgage interest payments, groceries and cleaning bills.