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MP to face voters on 'flip' claim MP says property claim was wrong
(about 12 hours later)
An MP who is about to face voters after allegations that he "flipped" his second home says he has no plans to stand down at the next election. A Conservative MP says he was wrong to claim £9,300 stamp duty on his home while renting a flat in London.
Conservative Stephen Crabb is among a number of MPs holding public meetings in their constituencies on Friday to explain their expenses claims. Preseli Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Crabb faced voters at a public meeting in his constituency to explain the claim.
The Preseli Pembrokeshire MP named his west Wales family house as his second home while renting a flat in London. He said he took responsibility for the claim, which he was advised to make, and has offered to repay the money.
He said he would take responsibility for his actions and not make excuses. He said: "There is this one thing in my expense claim history in the past four years that is difficult for me to explain to local people, to justify."
"I've got no intention of standing down and if there were any real serious problems with my expenses, I can assure you David Cameron wouldn't have me on his front bench team," he said. Mr Crabb was among a number of MPs holding public meetings in their constituencies on Friday to explain their expenses claims.
Mr Crabb said he expected a "mixture of opinions" at the meeting at the Picton Centre in Haverfordwest. Around 150 people packed out the Picton Centre in Haverfordwest to hear why he named his west Wales family house as his second home while renting in London.
"I'm going to talk through the allegations that appeared in the Daily Telegraph. Most of what appeared in that story wasn't quite correct," he said. The meeting was called after the Daily Telegraph reported Mr Crabb claimed £9,300 in stamp duty on the property before he "flipped" his second home allowance to his London base.
"I will explain the actions I took, I will explain the guidance I was given, I won't be hiding behind the fees office or blaming the system. The one question that none of us [MPs] were asking, none of us, was, in the cold light of day, in front of your constituents, how does this look? Preseli Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Crabb
"I will be taking full responsibility for the decisions I've taken." Mr Crabb had previously said he planned to talk through the allegations that appeared in the Daily Telegraph because "most of what appeared in that story wasn't quite correct".
Mr Crabb started the meeting by handing out printouts of his expenses from the last four years.
He spoke for around an hour, explaining his expenses claims and the actions he had taken.
He said he had become increasingly "uncomfortable" about the stamp duty claim after he began renovating his Pembrokeshire property and in August last year asked for his constituency home to be listed as his main home.
After the meeting, Mr Crabb said the event had seen a "range of opinions expressed" with some being "angry and vocal" while others were "sympathetic but with questions".
Mr Crabb named his Pembrokeshire family house as his second homeMr Crabb named his Pembrokeshire family house as his second home
He said the rules stated that the house where you spent most nights was your main home and he was told by the House of Commons fees office that he was "clearly spending more nights in London". He said: "It looks odd to them, at best, and for some people it would look offensive that I was able to retrospectively claim stamp duty on a home that I had bought in Pembrokeshire."
Former Conservative MP Michael Brown, political correspondent with the Independent newspaper, warned that the public was in no mood for excuses. He said he had questioned the advice he was given at the time from the fees' office - to make the claim on the basis he was "clearly spending more nights in London"- but took responsibility for going ahead with it.
He said if Mr Crabb adopted the "tone of justification" he had shown during an interview on BBC Radio Wales on Friday morning, he would be "blown out of that room so fast he won't even get to the general election". He added: "The one question that none of us [MPs] were asking, none of us, was, in the cold light of day, in front of your constituents, how does this look?
"What people want to see is contrition, apology. Any Member of Parliament who hides behind the obfuscation that I heard in that interview just then is going to have a very hard time tonight," he said. "I'm not here to blame the fees office, or blame the system or blame the advice.
'Explicit guidance' "I'm taking responsibility for a claim that now, in the cold light of day, in front of my constituents, looks difficult to justify, and appears wrong to them."
"If I was giving him advice, I would say the people are in no mood to listen to your excuses. They are in no mood to hear that the fees office advised you that you spent more days in London." When asked if he thought the claim was wrong, he replied: "Yes."
The Daily Telegraph reported Mr Crabb claimed £9,300 in stamp duty.
It also claimed he "flipped" his second home to his family residence in Pembrokeshire from a London flat that was sold for a profit after more than £8,000 in taxpayer-funded refurbishments.
Mr Crabb said earlier this month that every decision he had made as an MP had been "made with the explicit guidance of the fees office".
The public meeting will be held at 1830 BST at the Picton Centre in Haverfordwest on Friday 29 May.