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Gordon Brown pledges code of conduct to regulate MPs' expenses claims

This article is more than 14 years old
Prime minister proposes legally binding rules to prevent further Commons scandals as Lib Dems build pressure on chancellor

Gordon Brown today pledged to introduce a legally binding code of conduct for all MPs to prevent further scandals over expenses claims.

The proposal, part of the prime minister's fightback following the expenses furore, came as a poll suggested the Labour party could fall to third place in the next general election.

The code, which would cover duties to constituents as well as expenses claims, would be added to the constitutional renewal bill going through parliament, he said.

"What I have seen offends my Presbyterian conscience; what I have seen is something that is appalling," Brown told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.

"I did not expect to see instances where there are clear cases which maybe have to be answered to for fraud."

But Brown said he would not stand aside if cabinet ministers urged him to go in the wake of a disastrous performance for the party in this week's local and European elections.

An ICM poll in the Sunday Telegraph suggests more people intend to vote Liberal Democrat than Labour in the next general election.

The survey puts Labour in third place for the first time since 1987, on 22% – three points behind the Liberal Democrats and 18 behind the Conservatives.

The findings came as opposition parties called for the chancellor, Alistair Darling, to stand down over his expenses claims and urged more radical constitutional reform than proposed by the government.

The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, and the party's Treasury spokesman, Vince Cable, said Darling, should resign for switching the designation of his second home four times in as many years.

Darling was reported by the Daily Telegraph to also be among ministers who paid accountants thousands of pounds of public money to complete their personal tax returns, his own bills coming to £1,400 over two years.

Cable told the Mail on Sunday that Darling had been "caught with his fingers in the till" and his moral authority had been destroyed by the way he had "flipped" the designation of his main and second homes to make a profit from his expenses.

Clegg told the BBC it was impossible for Darling to continue in his job when such major question marks were being raised about his financial affairs.

A spokeswoman for the chancellor said Cable's criticisms were "untrue".

"As Mr Darling consistently explained he paid for personal tax advice himself," she said.

"The accountant's fees claimed were for preparing his office accounts to ensure the correct amount of tax was paid. That's an allowable claim. The accountant's fees were fully declared for tax purposes and he paid tax on the benefit.

"The allegation that he changed addresses for personal gain is untrue. He changed the designation of his second home when his circumstances changed in accordance with the rules. He also pays tax on the benefit of living in Downing Street and pays the council tax there."

Meanwhile, the Conservative leader, David Cameron, backed Liberal Democrat calls for powers to allow voters to force out MPs who break Commons rules.

Clegg has suggested a "recall" mechanism that would be triggered if 5% of constituents signed a petition demanding a byelection. It would only apply to someone found guilty of wrongdoing.

But the Lib Dems faced embarrassment today as the Telegraph revealed their former leader Charles Kennedy claimed expenses for teddy bears and mints from the House of Commons shop.

Kennedy said the claim for the three tins of confectionery and the two soft toys – worth £5.95 and £8.95 – had been submitted in error and the money repaid earlier this month.

He said: "This claim was wrongly submitted. When this error was picked up upon receipt of these invoices both were repaid by me on 11 May this year."

The Telegraph also revealed that Frank Cook, a Labour backbencher, claimed for a £5 donation he made during a church service in his constituency town of Stockton-on-Tees to commemorate the Battle of Britain. It was rejected by the parliamentary fees office.

Cook said he did not recall the claim and that it was "a mistake".

Cameron has also been forced to explain his second home claim. The Mail on Sunday reported he paid off the remaining £75,000 of a mortgage on his London home using his own money, shortly after taking out a £350,000 mortgage on his constituency home in 2001.

He used the second homes allowance to pay the interest on the new mortgage. Cameron did not break any rules and his office said the taxpayer had not lost any money.

More on this story

More on this story

  • I am the best person to clean up the political system, says Gordon Brown

  • Gordon Brown leadership: 'Labour could come fourth on Thursday'

  • Brown on Damian McBride and MPs' expenses – how strong was his defence?

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