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More MPs face expenses scrutiny End expenses 'bloodfest' - Malik
(about 3 hours later)
Clare Short and Justice Minister Shahid Malik are the latest MPs to have their expenses scrutinised as public anger mounts over the revelations. Justice minister Shahid Malik has gone on the offensive after becoming the latest MP to be singled out by The Daily Telegraph over expenses claims.
Ms Short was paid £8,000 too much after she claimed on her second home for her full mortgage payments rather than just the interest, the Daily Telegraph said. Mr Malik insists he stuck "a million per cent by the rules" and said some of paper's claims were a "fabrication".
She said it was "an honest mistake", she repaid the sum in 2006 and said the paper was trying to "smear" all MPs. He called for a halt to stories about expenses, telling the BBC: "This bloodfest has got to stop...otherwise we will have no democracy left."
Mr Malik said his claims were all made "a million per cent" within the rules. It comes as Labour slumped to its lowest opinion poll rating ever.
'No fiddle' Fraud
A day after a Labour MP was suspended and a Tory aide quit over their housing claims the Daily Mail has started a campaign to fund private prosecutions against some MPs. But MPs of all parties are facing a rising tide of public anger after eight days of revelations in the Daily Telegraph, with some saying they have been jeered at in the street.
There are also growing calls for some MPs to be investigated for fraud, with the Daily Mail starting a campaign to fund private prosecutions.
The thirst for blood from some elements of the media just seems like it's unstoppable Shahid Malik, justice minister MP-by-MP: Expenses claims
In its latest front page revelations, the Telegraph turns the spotlight on what it says is the controversial way Shahid Malik ran up the highest expenses bill of any MP.
It says he claimed the maximum amount allowable for a second home - £66,827 over three years - but secured a discounted rent of £100 a week for his main family home, which he pays out of his own pocket.
The newspaper alleges the three bedroom family home is rented from a local landlord who was fined for letting out "uninhabitable" properties.
On inside pages, it also lists Mr Malik's £13,942 "furniture bill" for the past three years, which includes a £2,100 claim for a large flat screen television and a £500 for a "home cinema" system.
Worthy causes
The Parliamentary fees office rejected these claims, paying out £1,050 for the TV and £250 respectively, and also rejected outright a £299 claim for an I-Pod.
He also claimed £65 for a court summons for council tax non-payment but he repaid this on Thursday.
Margaret Beckett and Sir Menzies Campbell were heckled about claims on Question TimeMargaret Beckett and Sir Menzies Campbell were heckled about claims on Question Time
But the MP has hit back in a series of media interviews, claiming much of the reporting about his expenses is "absolute nonsense".
Speaking from Dewsbury, he insisted he was "as straight as they come" and said nearly every other MP in the country had spent the same amount as him and the Tory-supporting Telegraph's reporting was politically motivated.
He said Conservative leader David Cameron had claimed as much as him in second home allowances "but there are no journalists outside his home".
He pledged to donate £1,050 he claimed for a television to worthy local causes in his constituency.
'Bloodfest'
But he added: "I am not doing it because I have done anything wrong.. if I had done anything wrong I would be paying it back to the Parliamentary authorities."
He said the public "had a right to be angry and horrified" about what had emerged on expenses but he also rounded on the media, saying: "I think it's really important that we try to draw a line behind this.
"Because this bloodfest has got to stop. We have got to move forward, otherwise we will have no democracy left. We will have decimated our democracy.
"And the thirst for blood from some elements of the media just seems like it's unstoppable."
The MP, whose constituency is a stronghold of the British National Party which gained 13% of the vote there in the 2005 general election, said he had "nothing to hide" on expenses and he urged other MPs to speak out and defend themselves.
"I have absolutely nothing to apologise for. I have done nothing wrong," he told BBC News.
'Honest mistake'
He said the green book setting out the rules for MPs had been his "bible" but he had been told by the Parliamentary fees office "just buy whatever you would buy for your home".
"I don't believe I have been well served," he added.
The Telegraph also singles out former cabinet minster Clare Short, who it says was paid £8,000 too much after she claimed on her second home for her full mortgage payments rather than just the interest, the Daily Telegraph said.
She said it was "an honest mistake", she repaid the sum in 2006 and said the paper was trying to "smear" all MPs.
The Telegraph reported the former international development secretary Ms Short was asked to pay back more than £8,000 and wrote to the Commons fees office at the time to say she was surprised it had not picked up on the problem.The Telegraph reported the former international development secretary Ms Short was asked to pay back more than £8,000 and wrote to the Commons fees office at the time to say she was surprised it had not picked up on the problem.
Ms Short, who now sits as an independent MP for Birmingham Ladywood after quitting the cabinet over the Iraq war, said the money had been repaid in 2006, long before the row began over MPs' expenses receipts.Ms Short, who now sits as an independent MP for Birmingham Ladywood after quitting the cabinet over the Iraq war, said the money had been repaid in 2006, long before the row began over MPs' expenses receipts.
'Smear everybody'
She told the BBC she had switched from an interest-only to a repayment mortgage and had continued to send bills to the fees office.She told the BBC she had switched from an interest-only to a repayment mortgage and had continued to send bills to the fees office.
She said: "This was years ago - the system worked, I made a mistake - the money was repaid, there was no fiddle of any kind, no milking the system and now they are trying to pretend that everyone is cheating and it's just not true."She said: "This was years ago - the system worked, I made a mistake - the money was repaid, there was no fiddle of any kind, no milking the system and now they are trying to pretend that everyone is cheating and it's just not true."
She added: "I think they [Daily Telegraph] are just trying to smear everybody, it was an honest mistake."She added: "I think they [Daily Telegraph] are just trying to smear everybody, it was an honest mistake."
She suggested that the news stories "may increase the vote for the BNP, make people cynical about perfectly good people who have worked in their communities to help people".She suggested that the news stories "may increase the vote for the BNP, make people cynical about perfectly good people who have worked in their communities to help people".
Court summons claim After a day in which one ex-Labour minister was suspended from the Parliamentary party and a Tory aide quit, over expenses claims, the public vented its anger against MPs on a stormy edition of BBC One's Question Time.
The Telegraph also reports Justice Minister Mr Malik - who claimed the most expenses of all 646 MPs in 2007 - claimed a maximum of £66,827 allowances over three years for his second home in London. Housing minister and former foreign secretary, Margaret Beckett, former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell and Tory frontbencher Theresa May were barracked by the audience over the expenses issue.
It reports he claimed £2,500 for a cinema system, later reduced by half by the fees office.
He claimed £65 for a court summons for council tax non-payment but he repaid this on Thursday.
Mr Malik said the report's suggestion he paid only £100 a week in rent on his "main home" in his Dewsbury constituency was a "fabrication".
He said the house was where he spent most of his time so it was legitimate to claim for the second home in London.
Elsewhere on BBC One's Question Time, housing minister Margaret Beckett, former Lib Dem leader Sir Menzies Campbell and Tory frontbencher Theresa May were barracked by the audience over the expenses issue.
Mrs Beckett and Sir Menzies have both had their claims scrutinised by the Daily Telegraph and sought to defend them on the programme.Mrs Beckett and Sir Menzies have both had their claims scrutinised by the Daily Telegraph and sought to defend them on the programme.
There were calls of "too late" when the MPs referred to plans to independently scrutinise all claims made.There were calls of "too late" when the MPs referred to plans to independently scrutinise all claims made.
After the programme, ex-Tory cabinet minister Michael Portillo said: "I hardly remember a Question Time like it." A YouGov poll of 1,814 people for The Sun newspaper suggests Labour support at a general election would be 22%, with the Conservatives on 41% and the Liberal Democrats on 19%. If repeated at a general election, the Conservatives would win with a Commons majority of 152.
Meanwhile The Daily Mail has joined forces with low-tax campaign group the TaxPayers' Alliance to raise money for private prosecutions against some MPs. Asked about voting intentions at next month's European elections the big gainers appear to be the UK Independence Party, with support at 15% - with the Lib Dems on 19%, Labour on 20% and the Conservatives on 29%.
Mark Wallace , from the alliance, told the BBC that it was important that the worst cases were properly investigated.
"We've already spoken to the police about requesting an investigation and, I've got to say, if the police drop the ball and if we think it's a better alternative, we may well be going for a private prosecution, that's something we're taking extremely seriously." We are looking for people who are interested in their own MP's behaviour.
'Sloppy accounting' What do you think of your MP's record on allowances? Has it been fairly represented? Will you be supporting or criticising your MP this weekend? If you are a party worker or member, how are you responding to the public furore? Will you be holding related meetings or events over the weekend? Tell us your stories using the below form.
BBC political correspondent Ben Wright said politicians from all parties know that they are under pressure because of this scandal and with more revelations likely they are finding it hard to fight back. A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below.
On Thursday the Labour MP and former minister Elliot Morley was suspended from the Parliamentary Labour Party after it emerged he had claimed £16,000 in mortgage payments, for 18 months after the mortgage had ended. Please note: if you wish to make general comments on events of the last few days, please go to our href="http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=6430" target="_blank" >Have Your Say debate.
He blamed it on "sloppy accounting", apologised and has paid the money back. name="say">
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Conservative MP Andrew MacKay also resigned as aide to David Cameron over an "unacceptable" expenses claim.
He claimed the second home allowance on his London address, while his wife, Tory MP Julie Kirkbride, claimed it for another home.
Between them they claimed 98.5% of the total allowance available to them since 2004.
Mr MacKay has said he will pay back an amount decided by the Tory panel, adding: "Due to an error of judgement in accepting advice from the fees office I have let a lot of people down."