Maria Miller: Expense Probe Is Launched

Parliament's sleaze watchdog is to investigate expense claims made by Culture Secretary Maria Miller.

John Lyon, Parliament's Commissioner for Standards, will look at a complaint about the senior Tory minister's second home allowances.

The decision to investigate follows revelations that Mrs Miller claimed more than £90,000 for the cost of a house her parents had apparently been living in.

She received £90,718 between 2005 and 2009 - almost the maximum allowed - for mortgage payments, bills and other costs at the property in south London.

Labour MP John Mann filed a complaint earlier this week, arguing that the arrangement was "identical" to that of ex-Labour minister Tony McNulty.

Mr McNulty had to pay back more than £13,000 in expenses in 2009 because they were spent on a second home occupied by his parents.

The Commissioner ruled in that case that the MP had effectively "subsidised" his relatives from the public purse, allowing them to live rent free.

Mrs Miller insisted on Sky News earlier this week that her claims were "absolutely as they should be".

Craig Oliver phoned The Telegraph's editor

A spokesman added on Thursday: "Mrs Miller's expenses have been audited twice and found to be wholly proper and above board.

"Any suggestion to the contrary is simply untrue. She would fully co-operate with any inquiry."

Downing Street added that David Cameron still has full confidence in the Culture Secretary, who is in the spotlight as she oversees negotiations over press regulation.

The minister's claims were originally revealed by The Telegraph, sparking a row with the Government amid claims aides had tried to suppress the story.

Mr Cameron's head of communications Craig Oliver and Mrs Miller's special adviser Joanna Hindley have been accused of using the Leveson report to put pressure on the newspaper.

The Telegraph claims that Ms Hindley referred to the report, apparently in an attempt to threaten them, when she was called for a response to the expenses revelations.

Mr Oliver then also mentioned the issue in a telephone call to the newspaper's editor - reportedly saying "she is looking at Leveson at the moment".

Number 10 has insisted Mr Oliver was only highlighting concerns about how the paper pursued the story because it had spoken to the minister's elderly father.

Mrs Miller has since insisted the affair has nothing to do with the Leveson report. "My concern is that any investigation is done in accordance with the rules, the Editors' Code," she said.

The Telegraph said it had lifted the lid on the conversations behind the scenes to show the risk of politicians being involved in how the press is regulated.

:: Further cross-party talks on press regulation took place on Thursday but broke up without agreement amid continued divisions over the need for a system backed by law.

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

Maria Miller: Expense Probe Is Launched

Dengan url

http://serverkecil.blogspot.com/2012/12/maria-miller-expense-probe-is-launched.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

Maria Miller: Expense Probe Is Launched

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

Maria Miller: Expense Probe Is Launched

sebagai sumbernya