Humiliated: Labour’s Lord Swampy forced to pay back £41,000
LABOUR’S chief whip in the Lords has agreed to pay back £41,000 in expenses.
It comes after it emerged he received an allowance for London accommodation while also claiming costs for a daily commute to and from Brighton, where he lives in a £1million house with his wife.
Lord Bassam, who is an ally of Jeremy Corbyn, pocketed £260,000 over seven years in Lords office holders’ allowance, which is given to the most senior peers if their main home is not in the capital.
The £36,366-a-year payment, paid as part of his salary, is to cover ‘expenses in staying overnight away from their main or only residence’.
Lord Bassam, who was nicknamed Lord Swampy because of his time as a squatters’ leader, took the money even though he does not have a second home in London and does not stay in the city overnight – instead making the hourlong train journey between Brighton and Westminster each day.
At the same time, Lord Bassam also claimed about £6,400 a year for train tickets and cab fares.
The chief whip, who is responsible for discipline among Labour peers, yesterday agreed to return £41,000 in travel expenses he claimed since 2010.
He insisted he had not breached parliamentary rules but could have dealt with the issue in a ‘ more appropriate’ way. In a statement, Lord Bassam said: ‘With my home outside London, I have been in receipt of the relevant office holders allowance for the opposition chief whip in the Lords.
‘At the same time, in accordance
with rules laid down by the House, I have claimed costs for my regular travel to and from Parliament. ‘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. I will also discuss with House officials the steps necessary to repay previous travel claims.’
The 64-year-old peer set up the Brighton and Hove Squatters’ Union in the 1970s, which campaigned to bring empty properties into use, and attracted media attention after he was thrown out of court for wearing a Groucho Marx mask with a whirling bow tie and a flashing red nose.
In an interview earlier this year, he said of his time squatting: ‘You never knew, when you came home, if you were going to find your possessions on the pavement or not.’
He became leader of Brighton council in 1987 and entered the House of Lords under Tony Blair in 1997, serving as a home office minister before becoming the party’s Lords chief whip in 2008.
In his role he is a member of the shadow cabinet, although he is appointed by Labour peers rather than the party’s leader. He is also a Privy Counsellor.
He gets a basic £63,537 salary, with the Lords office holders’ allowance taking his total pay to £99,903.
A Labour spokesman said ‘Although Lord Bassam hasn’t been advised he’s broken any rules, it is right that he will repay previous travel claims.’
‘Not submitting any further claims’