MPs face massive expense repayments on second homes
A number of UK MPs will this week receive yet more demands for expenses to be repaid with second homes coming under particular focus over the next few days. It is claimed that Sir Thomas Legg's enquiry has unearthed a number of situations where properties were rented from immediate family or companies where the MP had a shareholding. It has been revealed that these particular types of transaction are "tainted" and some MPs face paying back upwards of £100,000 to taxpayers.
Despite the fact that many MPs are currently disputing repayment demands in the hundreds and thousands of pounds, there is set to be a significant backlash from those expected to repay tens of thousands of pounds in the short to medium term. There is some confusion as to whether the enquiry is legally binding because of the fact that the expenses were in the past cleared by the expenses office and were apparently in line with older expense guidelines.
Despite Gordon Brown and David Cameron suggesting that their MPs will be forced to pay back any demands, the situation is very different under the surface. This is another subject which is set to go on for many months and cause significant disruption to the UK political scene.
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