David Mowat
David Mowat’s legally-acceptable claims included inkjet cartridges.
Warrington Guardian reported on its investigation into local MP expenses, given the recent UK scandal that saw Culture Secretary Maria Miller lose her job, finding that Warrington South MP David Mowat’s expenses, whilst legal and not denied, included £20,000 ($33,634/€24,295) spent on “staffing and office expenses” including inkjet cartridges.
Since 2010, Mowat had spent £138,669 ($233,202/€168,450) of taxpayer’s money, the newspaper said, with the claims “perfectly legal” and displayed on the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) website, with Mowat said to have been “good to his promise of never claiming food or living expenses in London”, with travel and temporary accommodation expenses claimed.
In turn, his other spending included more than £20,000 on “staffing and office expenses including sticky notes [and] inkjet cartridges”, to which the MP responded that he “would only claim for travel and the cost of maintaining offices” in Warrington, adding that “it is important that our system is open, transparent and commands public confidence”.