London MP hit by new expenses row

A London MP was today at the centre of a new expenses row which exposes an extraordinary loophole in Parliamentary rules.

Outer London MPs can claim up to £20,333 a year in second-home allowance. Most use the money to run a home in their constituency and another near Westminster.

Although Mr Wilkinson has broken no rules, critics accused him of cashing in on lax controls over MPs' spending, with one claiming taxpayers are "paying for his holiday home".

The 64-year-old MP has told Commons officials that the two-bedroom flat is his main home - allowing him to claim mortgage interest on his "second home", a large detached house in his north-west London constituency, less than an hour's journey from Westminster.

He has also come under fire for having one of the worst attendance records of any London MP. He missed more than half the votes in the Commons last year. He blamed his frequent absences on regular trips to Paris, Strasbourg, Geneva and Brussels as a delegate to three international bodies.

However, when he does attend the Commons, Mr Wilkinson commutes by Tube to Westminster from his ?500,000 house in his Ruislip-Northwood constituency, a 45-minute ride on the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines.

Last year he paid ?200,000 for his flat in the Isle of Man resort of Port Erin. Before he bought the flat he sold another property in the North which had also counted as his main home. Since the 2001 election his housing expenses have totalled ?49,655. Former sleazebusting MP Martin Bell called Mr Wilkinson's expenses "outrageous" and said: "This clearly contravenes the spirit of the rules."

Labour's candidate in Ruislip-Northwood, Ashley Riley, said: "Although within the rules of Parliament, it is fundamentally dishonest to claim somewhere over 250 miles away as his main home."

And Liberal Democrat candidate Mike Cox said: "The reality is that taxpayers are paying for his holiday home. It's an abuse that brings the system into disrepute."

Mr Wilkinson defended his housing expenses, saying: "My permanent home has always been out of London. The figures relate to the Ruislip-Northwood home. I commute into Westminster and endure with my constituents the daily Tube journey, which is no bad thing." Asked whether it was right for taxpayers to fund MPs' second homes, he said: "It has always been a provision of the House of Commons that it should be so."

Last year Mr Wilkinson missed more than 200 Commons votes, putting him among the 10 per cent of MPs with the worst attendance records. The MP, who speaks three European languages, said he had been "up to his neck" in work for the Geneva-based Interparliamentary Union, the Paris-based Western European Union and the Strasbourgbased Council of Europe.

He holds senior positions with all three bodies. On his regular foreign trips, his hotel and travel bills are picked up by taxpayers. A fellow Tory MP said: "John is one of the most assiduous voters when he is here but he is often not in the country."

The MP - full name John Arbuthnot Du Cane Wilkinson - lives with his Chilean second wife, Beatriz. He has two children. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge before a career as an RAF flying instructor.

He was an MP in Bradford from 1970 to 1974 and has represented Ruislip-Northwood since 1979, with a comfortable majority of 7,537 at the last election. He won support among voters by leading a fight to save two local hospitals, Harefield and Mount Vernon.

In the days of John Major's government he was a thorn in the side of No10, as one of the Eurosceptic "whipless rebels" who were punished for opposing the Maastricht Treaty. He twice tried to become Tory candidate for London Mayor. He has said he will stand down from Parliament at the next election. He lists his only hobby in Who's Who as "travel in South America".

A Commons spokesman confirmed that outer London MPs are free to buy a home anywhere in the world and designate it as their main residence. They can then buy a property in their constituency, call it a second home and claim mortgage interest from the taxpayer. MPs for inner London seats cannot claim for a second home.