MacShane faces expenses probe

It is understood that the investigation is in relation to the payment he gave his poet brother, Edmund Matyjazek, for “research and translation” between 2005 and 2008, believed to be between £8,000 and £12,000.

The former Europe Minister submitted more than a dozen invoices to the Commons bearing the heading of the European Policy Institute with each bill referred to as “research and translation” with fees ranging between £450 and £950.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards’ office confirmed this week that Dr MacShane was being investigated over claims under the incidental expenses provision but would not reveal or confirm any further details of the probe.

Dr MacShane, who was also accused of claiming council tax on both his Rotherham and London homes, is now challenging demands to pay back thousands of pounds of taxpayer-funded expenses.

Dr MacShane is one of around 70 MPs who has appealed against a review of MPs’ expenses done by Sir Thomas Legg.

He is still contesting a demand to pay back mortgage interest payments claimed between April 2004 and January 2006.

The Labour MP claimed he was still trying to find the relevant documents relating to the claims.

Former Labour borough councillor Peter Thirlwall, now an independent, this week accused Dr MacShane in an open letter of treating the electorate with contempt.

He said: “You refuse to answer even the most basic of questions about expenses.

“Don’t you think your electorate has a right to know how you have spent their money?

“During the period December 2004 and January 2008, covering just three financial years, you claimed for a total of ten computers (mostly portable ones) at a cost of £6,654.39.

“Were they all properly receipted? Why did you need so many? Did you keep losing/breaking them? Where are they now?

“You are spending extremely large sums on your telecommunications, in excess of £700 per month.

“The public purse really should not bear the burden of your long distance and international calls that are essentially private and that is what your salary is for,” he said.

It is also believed that the Labour MP is challenging a demand to repay a gas bill of £153.39, complaining he does not have his records and so cannot check them.

Dr MacShane has repaid £1,300 in excess cleaning costs but may launch a further appeal and claim this money back.

Sir Thomas was brought in to review and decide how much MPs should pay back to the taxpayer after it emerged many of them were claiming excessively last year.

A list made available last weekend revealed that at least 35 Labour, 20 Conservatives, three Liberal Democrats and two Independent MPs had so far appealed against Sir Thomas’s findings.

Their protests were investigated by former judge Sir Paul Kennedy to decide whether their appeals were justified or not.

Sir Thomas’s findings were made public yesterday in a 30-page report said to identify more than 300 MPs who he found to have made “improper” claims.

A spokeswoman from the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards said: “I can confirm that several aspects of Dr MacShane’s claims under the incidental expenses provision are a subject of inquiry by the commissioner.”  

Asked about the inquiry, Dr MacShane said earlier this week: “I and many others are just waiting for the final report to be released by Sir Thomas Legg, and will make whatever comments are useful when the report comes out.”

Dr MacShane was unavailable for comment following the publication of Sir Thomas’s report yesterday. 

Dr MacShane has been asked to provide mortgage interest statements to support payments totalling £6,001.34 between April 2004 and January 2006.

Sir Thomas’ audit recommended the Rotherham MP be given until March 1 to do so or, barring exceptional reasons, be asked to repay the whole amount.

Dr MacShane has also been asked to repay £153 for a gas bill because he failed to provide sufficient evidence that he incurred the cost at his second home.

The only address on the bill related to his main home, the report says.

Dr MacShane has already repaid overpayments of £1,354 for cleaning bills between 2004 and 2008 which exceeded the £2,000 limit.

Dr MacShane is one of 390 MPs named in the report who have been asked to or have already repaid expenses.

Wentworth MP John Healey was overpaid by a total of £2,354.35 for mortgage payments interest. All the money has been repaid.

Mr Healey said: "I never expected any question marks over my mortgage payments.

“Every claim exactly matched the monthly debits on the annual mortgage statements.

"But Sir Thomas Legg found what I and the Parliamentary auditors who check all claims did not detect, that there was a small capital repayment each month within what I understood was an interest-only mortgage.

"The lender has now admitted the mortgage statements did not show this, and the overpayment was totally unintentional and inadvertent.

“I repaid the amount in full as soon as the problem was brought to my attention."

Rother Valley MP Kevin Barron had no issues, according to the report.