Parliamentary standards watchdog finds Tory MP's claims for trips between London and her constituency 'wrongfully made'
The Conservative MP Nadine Dorries has repaid £3,000.72 in travel expenses after accepting that the claims were "wrongfully made and should not have been allowed", according to a report published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa).
Dorries told investigators at Ipsa that the claims, for journeys between Westminster and her Mid Bedfordshire constituency, were made for family reasons and not in pursuit of her parliamentary duties, meaning they were excluded from the scheme.
However, Ipsa dismissed further complaints about expenses claims for utility bills after a compliance officer, Peter Davis, ruled it "disproportionate" to penalise the MP further after making "no finding" about how much time she had spent at her London accommodation.
The expenses regulator posted a preliminary report on its website.
A spokesman said: "Ipsa has established a scheme which supports MPs undertaking their parliamentary duties – and publishes all claims made publicly, transparently and accountably for the world to see.
"MPs have a responsibility to ensure that any expenses claims they make are for parliamentary purposes.
"As part of the regular review of all MPs' claims, Ipsa's internal assurance function found that Nadine Dorries MP's pattern of travel and accommodation claims were unusual, and were referred to the compliance officer for investigation.
"The compliance officer for Ipsa has concluded his investigation into claims made by Ms Dorries for accommodation and travel and subsistence under the third and fourth editions of the scheme.
"The compliance officer has found that claims made by Ms Dorries were outside the scheme, and that these claims should be repaid. Ms Dorries has subsequently repaid these claims." Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 days ago.
The Conservative MP Nadine Dorries has repaid £3,000.72 in travel expenses after accepting that the claims were "wrongfully made and should not have been allowed", according to a report published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa).
Dorries told investigators at Ipsa that the claims, for journeys between Westminster and her Mid Bedfordshire constituency, were made for family reasons and not in pursuit of her parliamentary duties, meaning they were excluded from the scheme.
However, Ipsa dismissed further complaints about expenses claims for utility bills after a compliance officer, Peter Davis, ruled it "disproportionate" to penalise the MP further after making "no finding" about how much time she had spent at her London accommodation.
The expenses regulator posted a preliminary report on its website.
A spokesman said: "Ipsa has established a scheme which supports MPs undertaking their parliamentary duties – and publishes all claims made publicly, transparently and accountably for the world to see.
"MPs have a responsibility to ensure that any expenses claims they make are for parliamentary purposes.
"As part of the regular review of all MPs' claims, Ipsa's internal assurance function found that Nadine Dorries MP's pattern of travel and accommodation claims were unusual, and were referred to the compliance officer for investigation.
"The compliance officer for Ipsa has concluded his investigation into claims made by Ms Dorries for accommodation and travel and subsistence under the third and fourth editions of the scheme.
"The compliance officer has found that claims made by Ms Dorries were outside the scheme, and that these claims should be repaid. Ms Dorries has subsequently repaid these claims." Reported by guardian.co.uk 3 days ago.