Croydon South MP refuses to comment on his £21,481 of expenses

By Neil Millard

neil.millard@essnmedia.co.uk

Croydon South MP Richard Ottaway has this week refused to talk about the £21,481 he claimed towards his second home over 12 months.

With Parliament in meltdown over revelations about MPs expenses claims, Croydon's three MPs have so far not had details of their claims revealed.

But what is known is that Mr Ottaway is the only one of the three to have a second home - despite his Croydon constituency being just 12 miles from Westminster.

He chooses to live outside his constituency, in Bletchingley, Surrey, and has a second home nearer Parliament.

In the financial year ending in March 2008, he claimed £21,481 towards his second home.

This week we asked all three MPs to reveal their own expenses claims.

But Tory Mr Ottaway said: "I'm not going to comment on my expenses.

"I've got nothing else to say."

Over the 2007/08 financial year he claimed a total of £145,373 in expenses, including £15,484 on his office, £87,151 on staffing and £2,915 on travel costs.

Croydon Central MP Andrew Pelling was not saying much either despite claiming the least in expenses out of Croydon's MPs.

He said: "My position in each year's league table of expenditures has been 600th and 625th out of 646 MPs."

For the year ending March 2008 Mr Pelling, who lives in South Croydon, claimed no second home allowance.

But he received the London Supplement, a bonus for MPs living in London, of £2,812.

The Croydon Central MP claimed a total of £106,873 for the year in question, which included £10,244 to pay for his office and £79,226 for staffing. He claimed only £22 in travel expenses.

Malcolm Wicks, MP for Croydon North, said: My conscience is clear. There are no remembrance wreaths in there, no boxes of champagne. It's boring stuff like rent and rates.

"Obviously I get an allowance to pay for staff salaries. I don't think that's contentious."

Mr Wicks, who lives in Sanderstead, which ironically is in Mr Ottaway's constituency, claimed no second home allowance but also received the London Supplement.

He spent £21,003 on his office, £90,747 on staffing and £196 on travel, in a total of £131,601.

The House of Commons Commission is due to release details of all MPs' expenses in mid-July.