Teignbridge MP Richard Younger Ross is one of four Lib Dem MPs who’ve been told to apologise and payback money after breaking the rules over payments for second homes.
Joining Rich, who will be fighting the re-drawn Newton Abbot constituency at the next General Election, are John Barrett, Sandra Gidley and Paul Holmes.
All four accepted a one-off cash payment from the owners of an apartment block in return for agreeing to pay higher rents, according to the BBC. They will pay back around £16,000.
Apparently, the MPs accepted the dosh and remained in the flats, ‘leaving the taxpayer to pick up the cost of the higher rental bills’.
Richard has agreed to pay back half of his £8,031 sum, after deducting tax.
Standards Commissioner John Lyon said in his report on the MPs: “Members who accepted the payments and did not pass them onto the House of Commons were in breach of the code of conduct because the decision of each member to accept and keep these financial offers had the effect of putting their personal interest above the public interest.”
Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, was pleased that the MPs in question raised the issue, while other MPs living in the property had not and said Labour and the Conservites should order “all their MPs who accepted these payments to immediately refer themselves to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards”.
Check out the full story on the BBC
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