Newly released expenses claims have exposed a litany of questionable spending by MPs, including a 1p phone bill and a £395 designer laptop bag. The disclosures have sparked fury among campaigners, who accuse politicians of milking the system.
Among the most eye-catching claims, Tory MP Jeremy Hunt submitted a 1p charge for a 12-second phone call, while Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague claimed 43p for a box of paperclips. Hague, who has earned over £4 million from outside interests since 2001, also claimed for luxury toilet paper and a lavatory brush.
Other senior figures faced scrutiny: Oliver Letwin ran up a £1,765 phone bill in one month and charged £100 for emptying his septic tank. Shadow Chancellor George Osborne claimed £47 for two DVDs of his own speech on value for money, and faces a probe over his mortgage claims.
Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith claimed £1,600 for cameras and a camcorder, while Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw charged for a copy of a gay lifestyle magazine and a train snack. The TaxPayers' Alliance's Mark Wallace said: 'It's ridiculous that even the tiniest things get charged to the taxpayer. The system has got to be brought back in line with the real world.'
