Taken for a ride: How our freewheeling, freeloading MPs claim 20p a mile on expenses... for riding their BIKES



The cycling allowance has been used hundreds of times by eight MPs over the last four years

Norman Lamb MP admitted he has stopped making the claims because 'cycling costs nothing'

Hugh Bayley made 166 claims totalling £205 - the highest bill - claiming he used the money to maintain his two bikes







MPs were at the centre of a new expenses row last night after The Mail on Sunday discovered they are claiming money for riding their bicycles.

Britain’s Cycling Minister, a millionaire backbench Labour MP and the shadow Transport Minister are among those who have claimed the 20p per mile allowance for pedalling to and from official engagements.

The cycling allowance has been used hundreds of times by eight MPs over the past four years. One of the politicians admitted he stopped claiming the allowance because it did not cost him anything to ride his bicycle – but others defended their claims, insisting they were justified.



MPs were at the centre of a new expenses row after it emerged they are claiming 20p a mile on expenses for riding their bikes. Hugh Bayley (pictured) made 166 claims worth £205. He was the highest claimant of expenses for cycling and said he used the money to maintain his two bikes

The expense claims, which have been logged with the Independent Parliament Standards Authority (IPSA), follow HMRC guidance. It states that the ‘approved mileage rate’ for individuals cycling for business journeys – not commuting travel – is 20p per mile.

Shadow Transport Secretary Mary Creagh has made six cycling claims, totalling £11.60. One of her expenses, for which she claimed £1.60, was incurred when she ‘cycled from Westminster to Peckham for BBC filming and back’.

The Labour MP, who describes herself as a ‘cyclist’ on her Twitter profile, also claimed £2.40 for a cycle ride from her London home to ‘United Biscuits Factory for a visit’. Last night she declined to comment.

Tory MP Robert Goodwill, who was appointed the Cycling Minister last year, has made three claims, totalling £7.20. One, for a four-mile journey in his constituency in Sacroborough on April 20, 2012 was worth just 80p.

Last night he said: ‘I just put in a few claims to demonstrate that I use my bicycle for work. I actually made ten journeys last Thursday for votes between the Department for Transport offices and Parliament and I didn’t claim for those.’

Mary Creagh (left) made six claims totalling £11.60. The shadow Transport Secretary claimed £1.60 for a jaunt to Peckham for 'BBC filming'

Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb said he stopped claiming the allowance after making six claims, worth a total of £12.50. He explained: ‘I concluded, I’ve got a bike, it’s not costing me anything so I just don’t claim any more.

‘I certainly think we should be encouraging MPs to use the cheapest mode of transport but I have myself chosen to do it without claiming now.’ Fiona MacTaggart, thought to be the second-wealthiest Labour MP, has made 34 claims totalling £46.10. Last night she did not respond to calls for comment.

In total the cycling mileage claims have cost the taxpayer £417.48. The highest claimant is Labour MP Hugh Bayley, who has made 166 claims, costing the taxpayer £205.40.

Asked what he used the money for, he said: ‘I use it to maintain my bicycles and I’ve spent a lot more than £200.

‘I have two bicycles, one in my constituency and the other in London. It costs about £60 a year to put each through an annual maintenance check.’

And Norman Lamb (centre and front) made six claims totalling £12.50. The Lib Dem has stopped claiming, because cycling 'costs nothing'

Labour MP Andrew Smith has made 59 claims, totalling £105.40. When asked what he used the money for, he said: ‘Well, running a bike you maintain it. IPSA sets the amount, so you need to ask them the basis on which it’s set but I think it’s pretty much in line with costs you incur.’

The other two MPs to have claimed expenses for cycling are Lib Dem Tom Brake, the Deputy Leader of the House of Commons, and Tory MP Adam Holloway.

Last night, Founder of FairFuel UK Campaign Howard Cox said: ‘That’s astonishing that MPs are claiming mileage for cycling. That is profiteering. This is absolutely scandalous.’

Since the MPs’ expenses scandal broke in 2009, the amount claimed by politicians has gone down. The expenses watchdog, IPSA, claims to have to have saved the taxpayer £35 million since it was set up in 2010.

Mystery over Commons 'Mr Fit'... and his 204-mile cycling round tr ip

MP Dan Poulter said he would investigate a claim his office lodged for a 204-mile bike trip from his Suffolk constituency to London, after saying he doesn't cycle

He's renowned as one of Parliament’s fittest MPs, but a 204-mile cycling round trip in the middle of summer is surely beyond him.



Records from IPSA state that Health Minister Daniel Poulter put in the cycling mileage claim, worth £40.80, for the trip from Easton, in his Suffolk constituency, to London last August.



The journey is more than 50 miles further than the longest stage in this year’s Tour de France.

The claim was among nine the Minister made for cycling mileage, totalling £148.40, which include two other 102-mile journeys between his constituency and London.



But last night the 35-year-old MP, a keen rugby player, cricketer and golfer, said: ‘I don’t own or ride a bike, so this may be a coding error by IPSA – or perhaps more likely an error by my office team inadvertently selecting cycle miles rather than car miles on the IPSA travel expenses menu. I shall investigate further next week.’

Other MPs also said their cycling mileage claims were a mistake.



Desmond Swayne, Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, who made one claim for £1.20, said: ‘I’m certain that I have never knowingly claimed a cycling allowance, but it might be a mistaken computer entry.’

Tory MP Jack Lopresti, made one claim, totalling £23.40 for a 117-mile journey from his constituency home near Bristol to Westminster.



A spokesman for the MP said that the claim was a mistake and the journey was in fact taken by car.