Labour expenses scandal: Lords Chief Whip claims for second home he DOESN'T have
THE Labour party has been hit by a fresh expenses scandal after it emerged that a senior peer claimed £260,000 in second home allowance despite only having one house.
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Lord Bassam, the Labour chief whip in the Lords and a key member of Jeremy Corbyn’s team, was also given over £40,000 of taxpayers’ cash to cover the costs of his commute.
He insisted he has not breached any rules but has offered to pay back travel expenses from his Brighton home to Westminster.
He received £260,000 for a “second home” and £41,000 on his commute.
As the party’s chief whip in the Lords and because his main home is not in London, Lord Bassam is one of a small number of frontbenchers entitled to a Lords office holders allowance – currently £36,366 a year.
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I will not be submitting any further claims in this way, and instead use the office holders allowance to cover those additional costs.
The payment is to cover “expenses in staying overnight away from their main or only residence”.
In a statement Lord Bassam said: “While I have not been advised that any breach of the rules has taken place, waiving the right to such travel claims would perhaps have been a more appropriate response on my part.
“I will not be submitting any further claims in this way, and instead use the office holders allowance to cover those additional costs.”
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