Cameron orders Tory MPs to repay dubious expenses

As the Daily Telegraph today published its latest chapter of MPs' dubious expense claims, the Conservative leader David Cameron called in his senior colleagues and told them that he wanted all extravagant and dubious claims - such as bills for gardeners and swimming pool maintenance - to be repaid.

According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, none of his team demured. Among those understood to be reimbursing the public purse are Michael Gove, the shadow schools secretary, who was revealed yesterday to have claimed for more than £7,000 in five months for furnishing a London property before 'flipping' his second home designation to a property he bought in his Surrey constituency.

Stewart Jackson, a Tory front bench spokesman, and James Arbuthnot, Tory chairman of the Commons Defence Select Committee, have both agreed to reimburse money claimed for the upkeep of their swimming pools.

It is not clear whether this is the end of the matter for Cameron, who appears determined to stop the expenses rot spreading and to keep a jump ahead of Gordon Brown. The Prime Minister has blamed the system rather than individuals for the expenses scandal, and was a day behind the Tory leader in apologising publicly for his fellow parliamentarians' greed.

According to the BBC's political editor Nick Robinson, Cameron cleared his diary this morning and intended to consult lawyers about how he might tackle the most extravagant cases of allowance abuse.

The latest revelations from the Telegraph's leaked material concern the claims on taxpayers' money from several Tory 'grandees' living in country piles. Controversial claims include:

♦ Douglas Hogg, a former Conservative agriculture minister, submitted claims for more than £2,000 to clear the moat around his estate - Kettlethorpe Hall in Lincolnshire - and £14,500 for a housekeeper. Defending himself to the BBC, he admitted to the housekeeping bill but said he had never asked to be reimbursed for the cost of cleaning his moat - it was simply mentioned in details of expenditure on his house.

♦ Sir Michael Spicer, chairman of the 1922 Tory backbench committee, claimed for the cost of hanging a chandelier in his manor house and more than £5,000 in nine months for garden maintenance, including the item: "Hedge cutting ... helipad". He says the "helipad" reference is a family joke.

♦ David Davis, the former Shadow Home Secretary who left the Tory front bench on a matter of principle, claimed more than £10,000 for home renovations and furnishings at his Yorkshire home.

♦ Michael Ancram, a former Tory party chairman who is the Marquess of Lothian, claimed more than £14,000 a year in expenses while owning three properties worth an estimated £8 million.

♦ Alan Haslehurst, Tory deputy to the Speaker, Michael Martin, claimed a total of £142,000 over seven years for his country house, including £12,000 for gardening bills.

♦ David Heathcoat-Amory, the leading Tory Eurosceptic, claimed £380 for horse manure to put on his garden.

Amid complaints from several MPs, including Douglas Hogg, that their invoices have been misinterpreted by the Telegraph, it reported that Parliament will bring forward the official publication of MPs' claims from July to June.