MPs in expenses scandal backed 2007 secrecy bill

London: The full details of the taxpayer-funded expenses claimed by the MPs who battled to keep them secret can be disclosed for the first time.

An investigation has established that backers of a bill two years ago which aimed to exempt Parliament from the full force of the Freedom of Information Act have benefited from thousands of pounds paid under the second home expenses system.

Examples ranged from a former government whip who 'bought out' his partner from her share of a London flat at a cost to the taxpayer of thousands of pounds, to a Tory grandee who spent thousands of pounds of public funds on his country estate before selling it.

A shadow minister claimed a £7,000 (Dh38,943) bedroom suite and a £2,200 television and 'flipped' his second home, while a Labour election co-ordinator bought 16 bedsheets within the space of two months for a one-bedroom flat.

The MPs, who all backed the 2007 Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill introduced by David Maclean, the former Conservative chief whip, will face questions over their use of expenses and will come under pressure to return money.

Supporters of Maclean's Bill said they were acting to protect the confidentiality of constituents. Yet MPs opposing the Bill told the Commons repeatedly that its main impact would be to keep expenses secret.

The latest disclosures came as the fallout from the expenses scandal showed no sign of letting up.

David Chaytor, a backbench MP, was suspended from the Labour Party after he admitted he had claimed nearly £13,000 for the mortgage on a London flat after it was paid off.

The Metropolitan Police and Crown Prosecution Service are due to meet this week to decide whether to start a criminal inquiry into the misuse of the expenses system by MPs from all sides of the House of Commons.

Maclean, who introduced the 2007 Bill, spent more than £20,000 doing up his farmhouse under the Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) before selling it for £750,000.