Soundproof but not shockproof: more expenses revelations

From @LabourList

As David Miliband admits the expenses scandal has created a “vacuum” in our politics, the Telegraph is today revealing the names of even more MPs who have abused the expenses system.

Labour MP for Doncaster Central Rosie Winterton claimed nearly £5,000 toward the cost of soundproofing a bedroom wall with acoustic mineral wool slabs. She also claimed £2,574 for installing a television aerial.

Other claims included £298 for linen and curtains, £96 for towels, £750 a month for mortgage payments and £1,100 for a burglar alarm. Over four years, she claimed £86,277. These allowances were claimed on top of her minister’s salary of over £104,000.

Meanwhile, Tory MP Bill Cash claimed £15,000 in second homes allowances for a house owned by his daughter, and in spite of owning another home in Pimlico, 10 miuntes walk from Parliament.

Cash’s daughter Laetitia, on David Cameron’s A-List of potential Tory candidates for selection, owned the taxpayer funded home for 18 months and has since sold it at a profit of £48,000.