Backlash prompts Llanelli MP's expenses rethink

LLANELLI MP Nia Griffith has pledged never to eat at taxpayers' expense again after an angry reaction to her food bills.

Last year, Ms Griffith claimed the maximum £4,800 for food, and has been named and shamed alongside 31 other MPs who did the same.

Even when the House of Commons wasn't sitting, they claimed the full £400 a month under the allowance scheme, which was meant to cover eating expenses accrued while staying away from their main residence, on parliamentary business.

The revelations sparked a backlash from critics who feel MPs, who have a minimum salary of £64,766, not to mention all the other allowances, should at least be able to pay for their own grub.

Now Ms Griffith points out she didn't break any rules, but has announced she won't be claiming for food again.

She said: "A few weeks ago, I voted for an interim measure to reduce it immediately to £25 per night for nights actually spent away from your main home, but it should, quite frankly, be abolished. So I have decided not to claim it in future."

Now it has also emerged that Ms Griffith claimed £9,533 in legal fees and stamp duty while purchasing her new London home shortly after becoming an MP in 2005. She has since claimed £2,270 for a "complete redecoration" of the flat, designated her second home, and at least £4,000 on furnishings, electrical goods and furniture.

She said: "I claimed for the stamp duty when I bought a flat in London, which is within the rules, as an allowable expense, and the money does at least go back to the Treasury."

But she accepted: "I do think there is a problem if property prices rise and MPs are seen to be making a profit on a property they have purchased with taxpayer subsidy.

"I therefore think that any profit made should go back to the taxpayer."

*See this week's Llanelli Star for the full story