Taking the Piss

A house which the married Labour MPs Alan and Ann Keen designate as their “main” home for expenses purposes could be seized by the local council after they admitted they have not lived in it for months.

The property in Brentford, west London, is partly boarded up, with creepers obscuring some windows, and the Keens have been told that if left unoccupied for much longer it will be used for council tenants. Rubble is piled high in the hallway and garden and a tarpaulin covers a window frame in an unfinished loft conversion.

The couple, who use Coutts bank, have claimed almost £140,000 over four years for their “second home”, a flat a short walk from Westminster, while saying their “main” home is the empty house 10-miles away in Mrs Keen’s constituency.

Neighbours say the couple have not lived at the Brentford address for a year, but documents seen by The Daily Telegraph show that the Keens claimed £14,311 in second home allowances between April and July 2008.

The fact that they have been living full time in their taxpayer-funded “second” home appears to be a clear breach of Commons rules, which state that an MP’s second home should be where he or she spends fewer nights.

The Labour Party last night refused to say whether they would have to appear before the party’s “star chamber”, which decides whether its MPs should face disciplinary action over expenses.

Mr Keen has claimed the arrangement was agreed with the parliamentary fees office because of “exceptional circumstances”.

The couple have had a letter from Hounslow Council giving them 28 days to explain how and when they intend to bring the property back into use.

Take it away from them, and rent it out to someone who needs it, this pair are truly extracting the urine from the public.


Angus

Angus Dei on all and sundry

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