Woolas, Meacher to repay claims

OLDHAM MPs have been asked to repay £1,300 to the taxpayer as part of an audit in parliamentary expenses.

The report by Sir Thomas Legg included a repayment made by Oldham West and Royton MP Michael Meacher and a request for payment from Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Phil Woolas under the second-home allowance scheme.

Ashton MP David Heyes was not asked to repay anything.

Mr Meacher repaid £447.62 for overpayment of mortgage interest. He had previously repaid £586 after claiming twice for a council tax bill.

He said: “This is an extremely cleansing and cathartic episode. It has exposed things that should never happen and it is utterly disreputable what has happened, it is totally unacceptable.

“It is not just MPs’ expenses that we need to sort to regain public trust but the wider issue of holding the Government to account. Those who are responsible should be held to account and this should never happen again. I believe it will not.”

Mr Woolas was asked to pay £3,530.86 for overpayment of mortgage interest.

He won an appeal and now will pay £886.16, which includes £706.16 for mortgage interest and an overpayment of £180 for gas. When the expenses scandal broke, the Telegraph accused Mr Woolas of claiming for personal items.

Mr Woolas said: “It is a source of enormous relief to me that the audit of expenses has found that I did not claim personal items as the Telegraph had claimed on its front page attack on me last spring. I am now consulting lawyers with a view to bringing action.”

The mortgage interest payments were claimed a year in retrospect when certificates were available. An appeal ruled all payment was not needed but a total of £706.16 will be repaid in respect of 2002/03. The review only looked at 2003-2008.

Mr Woolas added: “I am grateful to my constituents who have accepted that I have not been dishonest.”