TAXPAYERS have picked up a cleaning bill of nearly £5,000 for Gordon Brown, and John Prescott, the former deputy prime minister, ate his way through £4,000 of groceries in one parliamentary calendar year.
The disclosures were laid bare yesterday by the Commons authorities who, after a two-year legal battle, released some of the expenses requested under Freedom of Information laws.
However, under the stewardship of Michael Martin, the Speaker, they
have vowed to press ahead with their High Court battle to stop the disclosure of every receipt and invoice, unlike the arrangement in the Scottish Parliament.
Other revelations included that Tony Blair, as prime minister, charged his £116 TV licence fee to taxpayers – along with a dishwasher. David Cameron, the Conservative leader, claimed nearly the maximum allowable for his mortgage interest payments, £21,293.86.
While Mr Prescott's food bill is arguably understandable, the trim Sir Menzies Campbell consumed nearly as much – £3,700 in food and refreshments. He also spent £1,765.33 on parking, taxis, laundry and TV licence.
There is no suggestion that the claims of any MPs mentioned were illegal, or that they broke any rules.
Nick Harvey, a Liberal Democrat MP representing the House of Commons commission, said Westminster would resist moves towards a Scottish Parliament system, where every invoice is available for scrutiny.
Mr Harvey said one Scottish politician had been labelled a skinflint for charging for his milk and a loaf of bread. "Had he had a full dinner, nobody would have batted an eyelid, so I don't think you can win."
He said the Scottish Parliament "have made a mistake in publishing every receipt", claiming that such a change in Westminster would lead to "no end to the mischief-making from political opponents".
Nevertheless, publishing all receipts may explain some of the mysteries. One is why Mr Brown's cleaning bill went from £2,380 in 2003-4 to £4,981.04 in 2005-6, at a time when EU enlargement should have brought even more competition in the market.
Meanwhile, taxpayers picked up a £7,675.82 bill for Mr Prescott for "repairs and maintenance", although he claimed nothing for mortgage interest repayments.
Matthew Elliott, the chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, which campaigns for lower taxes, said: "Why are ministers on generous salaries who live in free homes allowed to charge council tax and food bills to the taxpayer?
The spending on food, cleaning, TV licence and mortgage payments was all reimbursed under the controversial Additional Costs Allowance (ACA). Commons rules state that ACA is paid "to reimburse members for necessary costs incurred when staying overnight away from their main home for the purpose of performing parliamentary duties".
Most MPs use it to pay for the cost of a base near Westminster while away from their constituency homes. It cannot be claimed by those representing seats in central London.
The full article contains 494 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
