Vale of York MP Anne McIntosh to repay £948 in expenses for gardening claims (From York Press)

Vale of York MP Anne McIntosh to repay £948 in expenses for gardening claims

9:08am Monday 1st February 2010

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VALE of York MP Anne McIntosh has finally broken her silence and revealed she was told to pay back nearly £1,000 of money she claimed for gardening expenses during a four year period.

Miss McIntosh, who claimed nearly £5,000 for gardening between 2004 and 2008, was investigated by Sir Thomas Legg as part of his audit of MPs’ expenses. He concluded she exceeded the maximum reasonable amount by £948 and recommended she paid back this money.

Miss McIntosh denied she did anything wrong, but said she would repay the money as a “goodwill gesture”.

She said: “In my case, all of the claims were well within the parameters that were allowed and were reasonable at the time.

“Nevertheless, the ACA Review of Sir Thomas Legg introduced a retrospective limit for gardening and cleaning. I am not appealing against the Legg decision, which I regard as fair.

“As a goodwill gesture and recognising that a line needs to be drawn under the previous and discredited expenses system, I shall request that the outstanding amount of £948 be deducted from future claims over the next three months.”

“It is now time for all parties to move forward under the new system, and to restore confidence in elected politicians at every level.

“I welcome the lead that David Cameron has provided and will continue to publish all of my claims online in real time in an open and transparent manner.”

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