Minister in £25k security claim

Tourism minister Barbara Follett claimed more than £25,000 for security patrols at her London home, the Daily Telegraph claims.

It is the latest in a string of expense claims leaks which MPs said were made with Commons approval.

The wife of author Ken Follett and one of Parliament's richest MPs, Mrs Follett said her claims for security had been made within the rules.

Police have been asked to probe how the details were leaked to the paper.

'Disgusting reporting'

In a further disclosure, the Telegraph says immigration minister Phil Woolas claimed for nappies and women's clothing on his expenses, an allegation he vehemently denies.

He says they were listed on a receipt for food which he submitted, but he did not receive any money for them.



Mr Woolas called the Telegraph's reporting "absolutely disgusting" and said they were handling stolen property and making false allegations against ministers.

He said he believed the newspaper's claims might be "actionable" and he was seeking legal advice.

The paper reported that care services minister Phil Hope had spent more than £37,000 over about four years on refurbishing and furnishing a two-bedroom south London flat.

Mr Hope said: "I claimed the cost of running and furnishing a flat in London, in full accordance with the rules that apply to members of Parliament.

"The purchases I made were no more than was necessary to live in a habitable residence and replacements only occurred when furniture and fittings were worn out. These items were then disposed of.

"I have not personally benefited from this process, nor did I make purchases that were inappropriate for the property concerned."

Claims cleared

Mrs Follett's total bill for security patrols between 2004 and 2008 was £25,411.64, the paper said.

She told the BBC: "I claimed it, it's within the rules and I have no comment to make".

She also claimed £528.75 for a Chinese needlepoint rug to be repaired and cleaned, but was only paid back £300 after it was deemed excessive, the Telegraph said.

She told the newspaper: "As all of [my claims], bar one, have been accepted and cleared by the House of Commons Fees Office under the rules laid out in the Green Book, I have no further comment to make on them.










"The item not accepted by the Fees Office was claimed in error and is, to the best of my knowledge, one of the only two occasions in the last 12 years when my expenses claims have been queried by them."

Full details of all MPs' expenses dating back four years, running to 2.4 million receipts, were due to be published in the middle of July after the Commons authorities lost a Freedom of Information battle.

But instead, the Telegraph is revealing the information early and over several days.

BBC political correspondent Ben Wright said: "Clearly at the moment it is very much the government that is suffering because of this, because it is cabinet ministers who are having the spotlight shone on their expenses and junior ministers, as we discovered today.

"But MPs from other parties are going to be drawn into this, backbenchers too. There is a feeling that that is where, perhaps, some of the real, shocking horror stories of claims may then come to light, on the back benches."

Resignations predicted

The former independent MP, Martin Bell, said he believed a few MPs would now have to resign, and others would have to accept major changes to their expenses.

"I think the more we know about this, the worse it gets. I think Barbara Follet is in an almost impossible situation now.

"It's not a matter of her wealth, it's a matter of how can you possibly claim this amount of money for protection when we have a police service."

Other expense claims revealed earlier include a £6,500 claim by Gordon Brown to pay his brother for a cleaner. Downing Street has said there was "nothing wrong" with the claim.

And Lord Mandelson, who claimed £2,850 for his home, before quitting as an MP and selling it for a large profit, said the claims were for essential repairs.