MP Simon Danczuk admits wrongly claiming £11,000 expenses Published duration 18 March 2016

image copyright Reuters

MP Simon Danczuk has been ordered to repay thousands of pounds after admitting an expenses claims "error".

The Rochdale MP has been investigated over money he wrongly claimed for the cost of his children living in London.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) has told the Labour MP he must repay £11,583.20.

Mr Danczuk, who was suspended by the party last year, said he "holds his hands up" and promised to repay all the money "at the earliest opportunity".

Local Liberal Democrats asked police to check if Mr Danczuk had wrongly claimed expenses for accommodation for two of his children.

'Vague wording'

The expenses watchdog found that Mr Danczuk had been claiming "dependent uplifts" for his two eldest children for a period of three years when the children were not "routinely" staying with him at his London accommodation.

In reply to Friday's IPSA ruling, MP Danczuk said: "My accommodation claims were made according to what I believed at the time to be an accurate interpretation of IPSA's guidelines.

"Regrettably, due to the vague wording of the rules, I inadvertently claimed 10% more than my annual living allowance, money which was paid directly to my landlord in London and not to me.

"I hold my hands up and admit that this was an error on my part.

"I am relieved that this issue has finally been cleared up and I will of course repay the full amount at the earliest opportunity."

Holiday tweet revealed MP's £96.50 parking expenses claim

image copyright Reuters image caption Mr Danczuk claimed for car parking in Manchester while he was on holiday in Spain

A tweet depicting a Spanish landscape showed that MP Simon Danczuk was on holiday while he claimed almost £100 from the taxpayer to cover the cost of car parking.

The MP posted a tweet showing the "view from my Spanish gaff this morning" while his car was in a £17.50 a day car park in Manchester.

The MP left his car in Manchester on 20 July while he went on a parliamentary visit to Ghana - but then tagged on a break in Spain at the end and claimed the total car park costs on expenses.

IPSA compliance officer Peter Davis order Mr Danczuk to repay the £96.50 cost.

They accepted the MP should be allowed to claim for the period while he was in Ghana, but the time he was on holiday was "not an allowable expense".

Mr Danczuk argued that it would have cost the taxpayer more for him to have travelled back to Manchester after the Ghana trip to collect the car before his holiday.

In a letter to Mr Davis, he said: "The alternative to leaving my car parked in Manchester for that week would have been to travel by train from London in order to move that vehicle.

"By doing so, I could have legitimately claimed up to £187.80 for the train journey. This represents a significantly greater expense to the taxpayer than £96.50 worth of parking."

Mr Danczuk has agreed to repay all the money owed.

The MP was suspended by the Labour Party in December after he admitted sending lewd texts to a 17-year-old girl.

He was also interviewed by police earlier in January in connection with a rape allegation dating from 2006.

Police confirmed on Friday their investigation is continuing.