The London MPs who claim for second homes

Sixteen London MPs are claiming taxpayers' money for a second home even though they all live less than an hour's commute from Westminster.

Research by the Evening Standard has found the MPs are getting as much as £22,000 a year in expenses designed to help towards the cost of owning another property.

Although they are not breaking any rules, critics say it is "extraordinary" that they are taking the money while living so close to Parliament.

Under Commons rules, MPs representing outer London constituencies are allowed to claim up to £22,110 a year in Additional Costs Allowance.

This reimburses MPs for the "necessary costs incurred when staying overnight away from their main home for the purpose of performing parliamentary duties".

The allowance was introduced for MPs outside London who needed to pay for a flat in the capital.

Greater London MPs were entitled to it because of the inconvenience of late-night sittings. The Commons used to sit from 2.30pm until 10pm on most days with the possibility that debates would carry on into the early hours.

But more family-friendly hours were introduced in 2002 and now the Commons sits in the morning on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, which means MPs are able to get away from the Commons earlier. MPs also get many more Fridays off to allow them to work in their constituencies.

Because of this, there are only two nights each week when MPs might be called on to sit late - Monday and Tuesday - and some members now admit openly that they use the allowance to pay for a second home - often a holiday bolt-hole outside London.

Last week the Standard reported how London's 73 MPs ran up a bill of nearly £9million for allowances and expenses in 2006-07.

Among those to claim the full £22,110 designed for a second home are Barry Gardiner, a former minister whose Brent North constituency is 26 minutes away from Westminster by public transport.

Others claiming the full amount are Leyton and Wanstead MP Harry Cohen, whose constituency is 28 minutes from Westminster by Tube; Conservative MP for Romford Andrew Rosindell, 40 minutes away; and Ilford South MP Mike Gapes, Labour chairman of the foreign affairs committee, whose constituency is 39 minutes away.

Mr Cohen said it was a case of "use it or lose it". He said his main home was in Colchester and he used the allowance to pay for another in the constituency.

"At the end of the day it's really an adjunct to the salary. I would much prefer it if it was added to the salary but it is counted as a housing allowance," he said.

Mr Gardiner said he used the allowance to pay for the upkeep of a flat in Westminster in addition to his main home in Hertfordshire. "It is not just perfectly legal, it makes perfect common sense," he said.

"I work here frequently until midnight and beyond and have meetings which start at eight o'clock in the morning.

"It [the allowance] is there for me to better help my constituents," he added.

Mr Gapes said the expenses paid for the rental of a flat in Westminster. "It's perfectly allowed," he said.

However, Matthew Elliott, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "Many Londoners regularly have to commute for more than an hour every day and I don't see why MPs shouldn't do likewise.

"Secondly, all the arguments used in the past to justify Greater London MPs having a second home have been blown away with the new Parliamentary sitting hours. They now have the time to commute back home."

James Allie, Liberal Democrat candidate for the London Assembly seat ofBrent and Harrow, said the money would be better spent on housing for London's homeless: "It is this kind of behaviour that gives politicians a bad name.

"The second home allowance is meant for MPs who live too far away to commute to Westminster. There is no conceivable reason why taxpayers should be paying a fortune to house London-based Labour MPs.

"Do they consider themselves too important to travel to work by Tube like the rest of us?

"Taxpayers' money should be spent on housing the poor and the vulnerable. Why should Labour MPs enjoy two places to live while so many people in our city are struggling to make ends meet?"

WHO CAN CLAIM THE ALLOWANCE

The Additional Costs Allowance is paid to MPs to cover the cost of staying "away from their main home" - ie to help MPs who live a long way from Parliament with the cost of having a base in Westminster. They are allowed to claim a maximum of £22,110.

Inner London MPs are not entitled to the allowance and receive an annual London supplement of £2,712 instead. Outer London MPs can choose between the ACA or the London supplement.

The money does not have to be spent on a second home. It can go towards the cost of renting a property or for staying in a hotel or B&B.