THE TELEGRAPH: Alan Duncan, a senior Conservative MP, has claimed tens of thousands of pounds in mortgage interest on his designated second home – even though he had owned the property outright for more than a decade, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
Mr Duncan, the shadow leader of the House of Commons, bought a country house in Rutland in 1992 without a mortgage being secured against the property.
He designated the house as his “second home” for the purposes of claiming parliamentary expenses.
However, it was not until early 2004 that the multi-millionaire MP took out a £271,000 mortgage on the house. Since then, Mr Duncan has claimed £1,400 a month in mortgage interest payments on the house. In total, he has claimed more than £63,000 for the cost of interest on the mortgage.
The arrangement will lead to questions over whether Mr Duncan, a former oil trader, is milking the parliamentary allowances system. He has been appointed by David Cameron to lead the Conservative campaign to clean up the system. >>> Holly Watt | Friday, July 04, 2009
