YORK MP Hugh Bayley says he will give his full support to Sir Christopher Kelly’s proposed reforms of MPs’ expenses, including the loss of the right to claim for mortgage interest on their second home.

The Labour MP claimed he had gone into politics to do his best for the people of York, not to make money. “If I had wanted to be well off, I would have kept on working in TV,” he said.

Mr Bayley made headlines in June when he defended more than £100,000 in expenses claims for his homes in York and London after being publicly challenged by political opponents.

The Press reported the Labour MP had been claiming back £350,000 in mortgage interest on his riverside property in York since redesignating it as his second home in 2005.

York Tory councillor Paul Healey called on Mr Bayley to hold a public meeting, at which he could allay constituents’ concerns about expenses and the transferring of his second-home allowance from London to York.

But Mr Bayley insisted the claim was fully in accordance with advice from the House of Commons finance department, and he had adhered scrupulously to the rules.

The MP spoke out today in response to the publication of a long-awaited report by the Parliamentary standards watchdog, which calls for widespread reforms.

These include giving the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) the power to determine MPs’ pay and pensions as well as expenses, and bringing an end to claims for mortgage interest, with “appropriate transitional provisions” of one more Parliament or five years.

The report said there should be no further capital gains at public expense, the controversial practice of “flipping” properties should no longer be possible and any capital gains made during the transitional period attributable to public support would have to be paid back to the taxpayer. In future, MPs should only be able to claim for rent or hotel costs.

Mr Bayley said today: “I will support the recommendations. I only want to help other people as an MP, and it has been a privilege to be elected to represent York four times.”

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Phil Willis has praised Sir Christopher’s review of Parliamentary expenses.

He said: “The recommendations of this report must be implemented as soon as possible.”