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John Redwood has been asked to repay £112
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John Redwood must repay £112 expense cash

February 04, 2010

The town’s MP lost an appeal against a demand he repay £112 claimed for re-seeding the lawn at his Finchampstead home.

John Redwood told getwokingham today he has re-paid the sum, however maintains the decision is not fair.

Do you agree with the amount John Redwood has to repay? Vote here

The revelation has been revealed in a report on MPs’ expenses, published by Sir Thomas Legg today.

Mr Redwood declined to say what he had been asked to repay earlier this week in advance of the document being published.

Mr Redwood said: “I was asked to repay £112 of garden maintenance which was a legal claim made in 04/05. It was made openly and honestly, it was accepted without question by the fees office.

Read Sir Thomas' full judgement on Mr Redwood here

“I have been caught by Legg’s retrospection, he has retrospectively changed the rules about what you should have claimed.

“That was why I appealed, because it was an honest and accurate claim.

“The appeal judge has said very clearly I utterly understand why you submitted the claim and it goes on to say it does not imply any lack of integrity on your part, so that is good news.”

Mr Redwood received a letter in November last year asking him to repay the money, however he would not reveal the contents of his letter.

Finchampstead and Bracknell MP Andrew MacKay has also lost an appeal against a demand for repayment.

Andrew MacKay MP must repay £31,193

The shamed MP will stand down at the next election after it was revealed he and wife Julie Kirkbride, a fellow MP, were each claiming for a second home without a main home between them.

He must repay £29,243 for allowances claimed on his second home, which is one third of the Additional Cost Allowance (ACA).

Sir Thomas also found he was paid £9,950 for cleaning over four years between 2004 and 2008, which exceeded the maximum of £2,000 per year. For this, he was asked to repay £1,950, taking his total to repay to £31,193.

Tell us what you think about the figure Mr Redwood has been asked to repay. Leave your comments below or email editorial@wokingham-times.co.uk

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Jim B, I do have to agree... but at the same time, Redwood should have realised it was unreasonable to expect taxpayers to pay for that, even if it was "within the rules". MP's need to stop taking advantage and only claim for things that were really necessary.

CMA
5/02/2010 at 12:25

Whether you agree or not with a claim for £112 to reseed a lawn (and I do not), I do agree with Mr Redwood and the reason he appealed. If it was acceptable to submit a claim for this in 04/05, you can't suddenly change the rules and apply them retrospectively. The amount is insignificant, it is the way the rules have been applied. Yes change them for future claims but you can't suddenly go back years and demand money back for expenses that were submitted well within the rules at the time.

Jim B, Wokingham
4/02/2010 at 20:07

By simply paying up, it's almost an admission of guilt. If this claim was as "honest" as Mr Redwood claims, then he shouldn't have to pay it.

Mike K, Wokingham
4/02/2010 at 19:20

I do wish Mr Redwood had come clean on this last year when he was asked. It isn't a large sum, however a small London bedsit which is now his second home certainly should not have needed £112 spending for seeding. As for blaming the Fees office, I for one am sick and tired of many Members of Parliament trotting out this old excuse. The yardstick is "Would his constituents be happy to see this claimed" Answers in this column please As an aside Mr redwood must be commended for his prompt answering of emails he recieves.

William Richards
4/02/2010 at 17:09

I like the way that not only did the very wealthy Mr Redwood felt the need to appeal this rather insignificant amount of money, he then proceeded to moan about it, after all the months and months of this story, they still don't get it.