House Speaker in new expenses row

London: The beleaguered Speaker of the House of Commons, Michael Martin, has suffered a fresh blow as it emerged that his officials deceived the public over his wife's expenses.

The revelation came to light following the resignation of Mike Granatt as Martin's spokesman.

Granatt said that he was stepping down for "ethical reasons" after wrongly briefing a journalist over taxpayer-funded taxi journeys taken by Mary Martin, the Speaker's wife.

Granatt had been led to believe that Mary Martin was accompanied by an administrative official from the Commons on the trips - for which she claimed more than £4,000 (Dh28,910) in expenses over the past four years - when he was questioned by journalists. In fact, she had been accompanied by a housekeeper, named as Gloria Hawkes.

Revelation

When details of Mary Martin's claims for the taxi trips first became known, it was said on her behalf that they were "entirely in connection with household expenditure that supports the Speaker's duties".

Journalists were told that she had used the taxis while shopping for food for official functions, but it emerged last night that the "functions" concerned were actually informal occasions.

Martin also faced fresh allegations last night surrounding taxpayer-funded payments of £75,000 he claimed over the past six years to help pay for his £400,000 detached villa in Glasgow, which he owns outright.

Granatt's departure is a considerable setback for Martin, who already faced pressure from MPs to step down well before the next general election. It emerged last week that Martin earned more than a million Air Miles on trips to and from Glasgow. The trips were funded by the taxpayer - but seven members of Martin's family used many of the air miles. MPs are banned from using Air Miles for personal trips. Last year, the Speaker hosted six dinners in state rooms at a cost of £10,869.33 and spent a further £44,216 on entertainment.