More expenses claims revealed

MPs claimed £10 mill in second half of 2009

MPs claimed £10 mill in second half of 2009

By politics.co.uk staff

New breakdowns of Commons expenses has revealed that MPs claimed £10 million in the second half of 2009.

The figures cover accommodation, office costs, communications allowances and incidental expenses.

The total figure stood at £10,054,521.97.

The figures revealed that Mps had claimed far less as a group than they had in the period leading up to the Telegraph expose.

But media reports cited several thorny claims, with allegations that Diane Abbott had claimed for an iPhone and Nicholas Soames claimed £200 for speech-writing services.

A new body, the independent parliamentary standards authority (Ipsa), now governs MPs’ expenses, although there has been considerable controversy in Westminster about the new system.