Labour peer Lord Bassam agrees to repay travel expenses
2 min read
Labour's chief whip in the House of Lords has agreed to repay thousands of pounds of travel expenses after admitting it would have been "more appropriate" not to claim the cash.
The Mail on Sunday reports that Lord Bassam claimed for journeys to and from his Brighton home, while also receiving an annual 'Lords officers holder's allowance' of £36,366 for overnight stays away from home.
That was on top of around £6,400 a year in claims for train tickets from the south coast to Westminster.
While the peer has not been advised that he broke any rules, he said he should have used the office holder's allowance to cover his travel expenses.
"With my home outside of London, I have been in receipt of the relevant office holders allowance for the opposition chief whip in the Lords," he said in a statement.
"At the same time, in accordance with rules laid down by the House, I have claimed costs for my regular travel to and from Parliament.
"While I have not been advised that any breach of the rules has taken place, waiving the right to such travel claims would perhaps have been a more appropriate response on my part.
"I will not be submitting any further claims in this way, and instead use the office holder's allowance to cover those additional costs. I will also discuss with House officials the steps necessary to repay previous travel claims."
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