MP provides a robust defence to London property claims in Sunday newspaper
DERBYSHIRE Dales MP Sarah Dines has responded to an article in a national newspaper which spelled out details of her personal finances and property investments.
The article, which appeared in the Sunday Times on December 13, was headlined “Sarah Dines, Tory MP with six homes, billed the taxpayer for stays in four-star hotel” and listed a property in London among those in Ms Dines’s investment portfolio.
One of her homes, the article went on to state, is in Whitechapel and another one is an hour’s drive from the capital. The Sunday Times reported that, between January and March, Ms Dines spent £2,800 on stays in the Park Plaza Hotel on Westminster Bridge.
However, the article goes on to say that her Whitechapel property has been rented by six students from the London School of Economics since August. The article concedes that Ms Dines cannot live in this property because of terms set down in a buy-to-let mortgage.
It also points out that Ms Dines has not breached any rules, because MPs can charge expenses of up to £175 per night for accommodation in either their constituency or in London.
On behalf of Ms Dines, a spokesman said: “Sarah has conformed to all the necessary processes and procedures for declaring her interests. Any expense claims she has made have been in line with the instructions set out by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.
“It is incorrect to refer to Sarah’s London property as her home or suggest she can live in it. The terms of the mortgage agreement she has precludes her occupation.
“Sarah is a reluctant user of hotels and only stays in hotels in London when her parliamentary and departmental responsibilities have kept her working late at Westminster. Sarah has not used a hotel in London for several weeks”.
The Sunday Times article also states that Ms Dines has taken home £65,000 in payments “this year alone”, for work as a family barrister, but the 55-year-old motherof-four has refuted any inclination that this work was carried out during her parliamentary term.
Her statement said: “Sarah has not worked as a barrister since her election and has worked hard for the people of Derbyshire Dales as a fulltime MP.
“The remuneration Sarah has received and declared in respect of legal work since her election was in respect of work undertaken prior to her election in 2019. It is wholly incorrect to suggest otherwise.”
Ms Dines succeeded the retired Derbyshire Dales MP Sir Patrick McLoughlin at the general election a year ago.
It is incorrect to refer to Sarah’s London property as her home or suggest she can live in it. Spokesman for Sarah Dines