MP in £1,400 expenses row to be quizzed by watchdogs

AN MP faces being quizzed by Commons watchdogs over whether he claimed £1,400 for mileage in the UK while he was on official foreign trips.

The Mail on Sunday understands Tory MP David Morris, a former pop musician, is likely to be questioned by officials from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) after complaints by members of the public.

Mr Morris clashed with IPSA yesterday after blaming its ‘antiquated’ computer system for apparent discrepancies in his expenses claims.

This newspaper disclosed last week how official records suggested the MP claimed expenses for 25 car journeys in Britain when he was on fact-finding trips, including to Gibraltar, Taiwan, the Falklands and Saudi Arabia.

Morecambe and Lunesdale MP Mr Morris said yesterday 12 of the journeys were on days when he was leaving for, or arriving back, from foreign trips. In five other cases, IPSA had made a mistake with the dates. And an additional five claims related to journeys made when one of his aides was using his car.

He said he had written to IPSA to complain. An IPSA spokesman said it had no contact with the MP last week.

The spokesman denied the dates of Mr Morris’ expenses claims had been changed by IPSA, saying: ‘The date published is the date the MP submitted when making the claim.’ Mileage claims by MPs’ staff had to be made in separate expenses claims.

Commons records indicate that Mr Morris, who appeared on Top Of The Pops in the 1980s as a member of Rick Astley’s band, claimed expenses for 4,402 miles in Britain while he was on 11 foreign trips with Parliamentary delegations. If a complaint is upheld, he could be forced to pay back the money.