MP'S EXPENSES: Tory MP claimed £50,000 to rent a farmhouse from his sister-in-law

news

MP'S EXPENSES: Tory MP claimed £50,000 to rent a farmhouse from his sister-in-law

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:47 AM on 23rd May 2009

Bernard Jenkin has claimed nearly £50,000 for rent paid to his sister-in-law on an Essex farmhouse

A Tory MP has claimed £50,000 on expenses to rent his sister-in-law’s farmhouse, which is just a stone’s throw from a historic home his wife part-owns.

Bernard Jenkin has used his second home allowance to pay his wife’s sister, Mary Fraser, despite a 2006 Commons rule change that MPs may not use family members as landlords.

Mr Jenkin, a former deputy chairman of the party, paid Mrs Fraser £49,500 in rent between 2004 and 2008 for the sizable farmhouse near Chelmsford, Essex.

The monthly bill rose from £1,000 to £1,250 recently, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The MP for north Essex faces questions over the amount of rent he pays as his sister-in-law does not have a mortgage on his constituency property.

Mr Jenkin has been an MP since 1992. He lives in lives in Kennington, South London, with his wife Anne.

The Essex farmhouse is owned by Anne’s older sister Mary Fraser, who lives in her husband’s family home of Moniack Castle, near Inverness.

Just over the road from the farmouse is a historic country home owned by Mrs Fraser and Mrs Jenkin, where their mother lives.

Mr Jenkin has made headlines in the past for his connection to screenwriter Richard Curtis, a university boyfriend of his wife.

Many of Mr Curtis’s films, such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, feature a character called Bernard, which is said to be a reference to Mr Jenkin.

His files also show that he claimed more than £1,000 a year for cleaning services, along with similar amounts for utilities bills.

He also claimed more than £400 for a lawnmower in 2005, despite the fact that MPs are meant to charge only for garden maintenance.

Mr Jenkin and his wife Anne live in Kennington, South London

Mr Jenkin told the Telegraph that he first rented the farmhouse before the ‘family member’ rule was brought in.

He said he had received a written apology from the fees office for failing to tell him about the policy change, and has permission to keep claiming expenses against the farmhouse until August this year.

He added: ‘The present rental is reasonable and somewhat less than could be obtained on the open market, so in the circumstances, any suggestion that this represents a misuse of public funds is unfounded.’

Mr Jenkin was approached by his local paper this week about his expenses. He did not mention his living arrangements, instead agreeing to donated to Combat Stress charity some of the £780 he claimed on expenses for a 42in plasma screen television.

It was also reported today that Conservative MP Mike Penning charged the taxpayer £2.99 for the cost of his dog's stainless steel bowl.

He said yesterday that he had claimed for it 'mistakenly' and will pay the money back.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1186817/MPS-EXPENSES-Tory-MP-claimed-50-000-rent-farmhouse-sister-law.html#