Published: June 27, 2009
Burnham-On-Sea MP to repay further £5,000 of expense claims

Burnham-On-Sea's MP is to repay a further £5,000 of expense claims after further details of his claims were published on the Parliamentary website.

David Heathcoat-Amory will repay the money after making a series of claims for gardening costs.

He has already paid back £388 for horse manure, but the Conservative Party said on Friday (June 26th) he would pay back more to cover gardening bills, which included £6 for the use of a chainsaw and £2 for mouse poison.

Mr Heathcoat Amory claimed a total of £136,839 for 2007-08, of which £20,930 was his second home allowance. He owns both of his homes outright.

His expenses also included claims for gardening services of more than £10,000 over four years, and quarterly cleaning bills of up to £700.

However, Mr Heatcoat-Amory's expenses were within the rules and his overall expense claim remains the lowest of any Somerset MP.

The Daily Telegraph reported last month that Mr Heathcoat-Amory had filed 19 expense receipts worth £388.80 for fertiliser between 2004-07. He also claimed £6 for the use of a chainsaw, £2 for mouse poison, £1.95 for sunflower seeds, £15 for moving rubbish and £5 for a wheelbarrow puncture.

Furthermore, Mr Heathcoat-Amory also submitted a £986.17 bill for heating oil in January 2008. Weed treatments, moss killer and herbicide at his home reportedly cost the taxpayer more than £50 in 2006, and there was also a £30 claim for hedge trimming in 2007.

Highbridge Lib Dem councillor Joe Leach recently called on the MP to step down over the expense claims.