Labour MP Barry Gardiner clashed with former Scotland Yard officer Peter Bleksley on GB News after being questioned about his housing arrangements live on air. The exchange took place during a discussion about money spent on activities for migrants, when the subject turned to Gardiner's own finances.
The Housing Question
Bleksley asked: "How far is your constituency from Westminster? About eight miles. So why did you need a second taxpayer-funded home close to Parliament?"
Gardiner responded: "When I was a minister, I wasn't living in the constituency at the time, and...I had to have a driver for the red box. As a result of that, you had to, as a minister, be located in Westminster because otherwise your driver couldn't get home and get you the red box."
The Heated Exchange
Bleksley tried to interject, but Gardiner continued to defend himself, saying: "It was a nasty question. And you tried to catch me out, but actually there was a perfectly legitimate reason for it. And if you knew how Parliament operated, you wouldn't have tried it."
Bleksley insisted: "It was a perfectly legitimate question. And I stand by why I said MPs should live in the constituencies that they should represent. One who's got a constituency eight miles from central London does not, in my opinion, deserve or need a second home in Westminster."
Past Expenses Scrutiny
Gardiner faced public and media scrutiny during the 2009 expenses scandal over his use of Parliamentary housing and travel allowances. He bought a flat in Pimlico in 2003 for £246,500 and sold it in 2007 for £445,000, making a profit of £198,500.
Over four financial years, he claimed roughly £81,935 in additional costs allowances to cover mortgage interest and council tax of about £1,000 a month on the property. His expense claims for the flat included over £11,000 for renovations, including a kitchen, plumbing, and rewiring, and specific furnishings and accessories such as £235 Harrods bed linen and a £248 Christopher Wray light.
He had designated his family home in Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, outside London, as his main residence, using the Westminster-area flat as a second home for late-night parliamentary work. This was despite his Brent North constituency being a short commute away on the Jubilee line.
At the time, he maintained that he followed the rules in place, paid capital gains tax on the property's profit, and argued that the arrangement was comparable to the cost of renting.
