Shipley MP Philip Davies gives details of expenses to Telegraph & Argus (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Shipley MP Philip Davies gives details of expenses to Telegraph & Argus

9:36am Saturday 28th November 2009 in

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An MP has given his expenses details to the Telegraph & Argus weeks before they are due to be published.

Next month the Commons authority are expected to release the 2008/9 additional cost allowance – the part of MPs expenses which allows them to run a second property in London.

The ACA caused much controversy earlier this year after abuses of the system were uncovered, including MPs claiming for phantom mortgages, tens of thousands of pounds on interior designers and a £6,000 television.

Shipley MP Philip Davies said he wanted his constituents to know what he had claimed for at the earliest opportunity.

He said: “People have been rightly shocked and appalled by MPs expenses and I wanted to give my unredacted expenses to the T&A so people know I have nothing to hide.

“Giving unredacted expenses for me is important as for some people it leaves a bitter taste the fact so much is blacked out as they want to know what is being hidden.

“I want people to have confidence that I have not just been sticking to the letter of the rules but the spirit of them as well.

“I claimed for mortgage interest, food and bills for my flat. Hopefully by giving my expenses up front it will reassure people that I am being transparent.”

Between April 2008 and March 2009, Mr Davies claimed regular mortgage interest only payments of £1,368.70 and £300 for each of nine months he was in Westminster. He also claimed £112.65 over the period for a BT phone, £295 for insurance on the flat, and council tax of £1,358.

A further £1,051 service charge was claimed on the one-bedroom property and £94 for repairs to be carried out after a mains failure. No furniture or other items were purchased.

Following the revelations about MPs expenses earlier this year, police investigating the most serious alleged abuses have referred four cases to the Crown Prosecution Service.

Four MPs or Lords, who have not been named, could face a maximum of seven to ten years in prison if found guilty of fraud or false accounting.

The 2008/09 expenses were submitted before MPs’ wrongdoings were exposed, which means more revelations could come to light in the 2008/9 claims.

When the expenses are published on the Parliament website, large parts of the claims will be blacked out as was the case for the previous four years published in July.

It would have meant many of the abuses would have gone unnoticed if not for newspaper revelations.

The ACA for the first quarter of 2009/10 will also be available to view.

e-mail: newsdesk@telegraphandargus.co.uk