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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| MP Cash faces 'serious questions' | MP Cash faces 'serious questions' |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Conservative MP Bill Cash has "very serious questions to answer" about his expenses, David Cameron has said. | Conservative MP Bill Cash has "very serious questions to answer" about his expenses, David Cameron has said. |
| The backbench MP reportedly claimed £15,000 on expenses to rent a London flat from his daughter - despite owning one which was closer to Parliament. | The backbench MP reportedly claimed £15,000 on expenses to rent a London flat from his daughter - despite owning one which was closer to Parliament. |
| He said it was within the rules and cost the taxpayer no more than if he had rented one elsewhere. | He said it was within the rules and cost the taxpayer no more than if he had rented one elsewhere. |
| Meanwhile Labour deputy Harriet Harman said Labour MPs who had done something wrong would have to "pay the price". | Meanwhile Labour deputy Harriet Harman said Labour MPs who had done something wrong would have to "pay the price". |
| In the latest revelations about MPs' expenses in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Cash, MP for Stone in Staffordshire, is reported to have designated his daughter's flat as his official "second home" in 2004-5. | In the latest revelations about MPs' expenses in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Cash, MP for Stone in Staffordshire, is reported to have designated his daughter's flat as his official "second home" in 2004-5. |
| 'Reasonable rent' | |
| He went on to claim more than £15,000 on his second home allowances for the rent on the Notting Hill property, despite owning his own flat in Pimlico, the newspaper said. | He went on to claim more than £15,000 on his second home allowances for the rent on the Notting Hill property, despite owning his own flat in Pimlico, the newspaper said. |
| Mr Cash said when the claims were made they were within the rules - the rules changed in 2006 so MPs could no longer claim for properties owned by close relatives. | |
| I certainly don't think there was anything extravagant or extraordinary about what I have done Bill Cash | |
| He told the BBC he could not have stayed at his flat in Pimlico because his son was living there, rent free at the time. | |
| "He was then living there and I had the option of going somewhere else, so I took the rented property from my daughter which was a reasonable rent and in accordance with the tenancy agreement I had entered into," he said. | |
| "I had to be somewhere in London for my Parliamentary duties." | |
| He said while some claims for country homes had been described as "rather extravagant" - he had only claimed for a "very small flat". | |
| "I certainly don't think there was anything extravagant or extraordinary about what I have done." | |
| But asked about the reports, Conservative leader Mr Cameron said: "I think Bill Cash has got some very serious questions to answer. | But asked about the reports, Conservative leader Mr Cameron said: "I think Bill Cash has got some very serious questions to answer. |
| "He needs to answer those questions and also cooperate with the inquiry that the Conservative Party is holding. | "He needs to answer those questions and also cooperate with the inquiry that the Conservative Party is holding. |
| "And everyone knows the consequences of not cooperating with those inquiries - and that's what needs to happen." | "And everyone knows the consequences of not cooperating with those inquiries - and that's what needs to happen." |
| Mr Cameron has warned that any MP who refuses to pay back claims deemed to have been excessive could be sacked. | Mr Cameron has warned that any MP who refuses to pay back claims deemed to have been excessive could be sacked. |