£12,000 claimed by our MPs

OLDHAM MPs were paid more than £12,000 in expenses in the first four months of this Parliament — but the figures from the controversial body charged with cleaning up the system are already being called into question.

The information published by Ipsa — the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority — show Oldham West and Royton MP Michael Meacher claimed £748.32 and the former Oldham East and Saddleworth MP Phil Woolas — who will today learn whether he has won his appeal to be reinstated as the MP — £4,380.67.

Ashton MP David Heyes claimed £7,229.65.

The discrepancies in payouts relate to many MPs not being paid or submitting claims at a later date. Claims of MPs for the four-month period are not comparable given they can claim any time in the year.

Details of their post-election claims including second home, travel, office and staff costs were unveiled by the new MPs’ expenses watchdog, set up to enforce tighter rules on MPs’ use of taxpayers’ cash in the wake of last year’s expenses scandal.

Included in the claims were £349 on ink cartridges and £196 for photocopier lease and insurance by Mr Meacher and Mr Woolas claimed numerous cheap ticket returns to and from the constituency and nearly £3,000 on office rent. Neither claimed for food.

Nationally, the first set of MPs’ expenses under the new rules revealed MPs were paid £3.1 million.

Some 22,000 claims of 576 MPs were disclosed.

Although a description of each claim was published, Ipsa decided it would be too expensive for it to release copies of individual receipts. It was that detailed information which allowed some of the previous wrongdoing by MPs to be exposed in revelations which rocked Westminster.

A spokeswoman for Ipsa said: “We are not commenting on individual cases.

If an MP has put in claims after August 31 it would not be included in this tranche even if those claims were backdated.”

When asked if the amount was what an MP had claimed for or what IPSA had paid out, she replied: “The figures relate to what we have paid out.”

The figures come as MPs last night hit out in a Commons debate over Ipsa’s handling of the system.

Prime Minister David Cameron claimed £2,581.13 and Labour leader Ed Miliband claimed £2.066.27.