2. Extract from article in the
Guardian, 14 May 2009
MPs' expenses: Why Andrew Mackay had to resign
...
[Mr] Mackay had designated his London home as his
second residence, allowing him to claim more than £1,000
a month in mortgage interest payments for the property from the
annual £24,006 Additional Costs Allowance (ACA). That was
in line with many other MPs.
His mistake was to designate as his main home a flat
he shares with Kirkbride in a large listed building in her Bromsgrove
constituency. Mackay says there is nothing wrong with this because
he was brought up in the Midlands and has strong connections with
the area. He designated no property in his Berkshire constituency.
Kirkbride designates the Bromsgrove flat as her second property,
on the basis that their London flat is her main home. This allows
her to claim more than £900 a month for the mortgage interest
on her constituency flat.
...
... the leadership pointed out to Tories that MacKay's
resignation marked a significant moment in setting out the parameters
for the committee which will examine the expenses of all Tory
MPs with questionable claims. This is because Mackay's arrangements
were entirely within the rules, and had been approved by the most
senior officials in the Commons Fees Office. Mackay and Kirkbride's
arrangements date back around nine years following their wedding
in 1997. They went to the Fees Office and asked what they should
do about designation of their homes. The most senior official
in the office approved the arrangement.
"This was all transparent, it was all approved
and frankly until it was drawn to my attention it did not occur
to me it didn't pass the 'reasonableness'
test," Mackay said. "Looking
back now, it does look strange, I have clearly made an error of
judgment for which I profusely apologise and I've done what I
think is the right thing."
...
14 May 2009
| 
