Palin 'tried to cover up spending state cash on children'

SARAH PALIN is facing fresh allegations that she abused her power as Governor of Alaska.

An investigation has revealed she charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later changed expense reports to indicate that they were on official business.

The charges, which totalled more than £10,000, included costs for hotel stays and commercial flights for three daughters to watch their father in a snow-mobile race. Other expenses included a trip to New York, where Mrs Palin attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old daughter Bristol for five days and four nights in a hotel.

The investigation, by Associated Press, found that Mrs Palin had charged the state of Alaska for 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. In other cases, she charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.

Alaska law does not address expenses for a governor's children, but does allow for payment of expenses for anyone conducting official state business.

The latest allegations come soon after an inquiry found that the Republican vice-presidential candidate had violated ethics laws in attempts to get her former brother-in-law, a state trooper, fired after an acrimonious divorce from her sister. In the latest scandal to hit the 44-year-old mother of five who described herself as a pitbull with lipstick it is likely to be the changing of her expense claims that will come under the keenest scrutiny.

It is claimed Ms Palin contacted her office after being selected as John McCain's running mate in September and told staff to amend her expenses so that it appeared her daughters were on official business when they accompanied her. In the amended reports, she added phrases such as "First Family attending" and "First Family invited" to explain the girls' presence. "The governor said, 'I want the purpose and the reason for this travel to be clear,'" said Linda Perez, state director of administrative services, who amended the forms.

As governor, Ms Palin justified having the state pay for the travel of her daughters Bristol, Willow, 14, and seven-year-old Piper by noting on travel forms that the girls had been invited to attend or participate in events on the governor's schedule. Several organisers said the children merely accompanied their mother and did not participate.

But according to reports seen by Associated Press, at one event Ms Palin listed a role for the two girls at the function as "to draw two separate raffle tickets".