Tory MP paid own firm with expenses

Published: Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:00:00

A senior Conservative MP used his parliamentary expenses to a pay a company he set up to run his office, it has emerged. In its latest revelation regarding MPs' expenses, the Daily Telegraph has revealed David Wilshire paid more than £100,000 of taxpayers' money to his own company. The MP for Spelthorne in Surrey claimed for more than three years for office assistance provided by "Moorlands Research Services", the paper said.

Mr Wilshire said he has now asked the parliamentary standards commissioner John Lyons to investigate his expenses. Currently, Commons rules state MPs are forbidden from entering into arrangements that "may give rise an accusation" of profiting from public funds. Mr Wilshire, however, said his expenses claims had been approved and been in accordance with the rules.

"The arrangement was formally approved by the fees office and, as required by the rules, a formal written agreement was drawn up and lodged with them," the MP for Spelthorne said. "The payments were made strictly in accordance with the rules and payments were made directly to the business's bank account." The Telegraph claims that between 2005 and 2008 Mr Wilshire paid up to £3,250 a month to the business owned by him and his partner.

Extra invoices were also submitted to the authorities, with the total paid reaching £105,500. The newspaper claims, however, that there is no official record of the company's existence and it has never filed public accounts. Mr Wilshire claims the firm closed down last year but before then had been included in his entry for the register of members' interests.

The expenses row has once again returned to haunt MPs this week, following Sir Thomas Legg's review. Days after they returned from summer recess, numerous MPs, including all three party leaders, received letters from Sir Thomas setting out what further expenses claims they need to pay back.

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