House of Commons apologises to Wirral MP for wrong advice on expenses

Jun 26 2009 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post

EMBATTLED Wirral South MP Ben Chapman has been told by the House of Commons incorrect payments made to him for his mortgage probably resulted in “no overall loss to public funds”.

Mr Chapman announced last month he intended to stand down at the next General Election following the furore over the mortgage payments revealed in leaked expense claim forms.

The Wirral South MP insisted he was “open and above board” over £15,000 claimed from the taxpayer for mortgage interest he no longer paid.

Mr Chapman became caught up in the row over expenses when his details were revealed in The Daily Telegraph, which said he sought and was given permission to reclaim the interest payments on the full value of his original mortgage, despite paying off £295,000 of the loan in 2002.

At the time, Mr Chapman said: “Whatever I’ve done, I’ve been entirely open and above board with the authorities and Parliament.

“I have received a letter from the Director of Operations at the House of Commons Fees Office, which says that the advice I received in 2002 concerning repayment of part of my mortgage was ‘incorrect at the time it was given, although the mistake was not discovered until 2003. I regret that this mistake occurred’.”

In a letter marked Private and Confidential, sent to the MP earlier this month, the House of Commons director of operations, Terry Bird, apologised for the error in advice given to Mr Chapman.