Russell astonished over MPs' expenses

11.18.37am GMT Thu 4th Feb 2010

Colchester MP Bob Russell - whose personal expenses are amongst the lowest ten per cent of all MPs - has said he is astonished to be told that he had claimed too much!

He said: "I share a small flat with Portsmouth South MP Mike Hancock, off the Old Kent Road in South London. Our claims are so low that had we continued to use hotels then it would have cost the public purse £50,000 more over the past five years, but instead of being congratulated for our low claims and value for money we have been told we claimed too much.

"At current levels, staying in a Youth Hostel would cost more. Short of sleeping in the office I do not see how we could get our costs any lower."

Mr Russell said that he and Mr Hancock had been told that they had over-claimed on mortgage interest and Council Tax - he had therefore paid the £4,539.45p which he was told he had over-claimed.

"I have not knowingly over-claimed, but we are being told that we miscalculated. What is annoying is that when the miscalculation is seemingly in our favour we have to pay back - but when the miscalculation is the other way we are not allowed to offset them. It's just our hard luck."

He added: "I think what this shows is that the Fees Office did not do its job properly in checking claims from MPs, and auditing procedures did not pick up the mistakes either. Mr Hancock and I have decided that, despite feeling somewhat hard done by, that we will take this on the chin and not appeal. The whole thing has been a huge distraction. We need to move on and get on with our work."

Mr Russell revealed that he had twice written to Sir Thomas Legg, who had overseen the MPs expenses controversy, to seek a meeting to discuss matters "but I regret I did not have the courtesy of an acknowledgement."

He concluded: "I want people to know that I am in no way a gainer out of all this - quite the reverse. I would also observe that whereas millionaires like Tory Leader David Cameron and Cabinet Minister Shaun Woodward have put in housing claims in excess of £20,000 annually, and these are said to be OK, the much more modest claims made by myself and Mr Hancock are deemed to have been too high. It is indeed a funny old world."