Anti-gay MP Iris Robinson and husband tried to claim twice for same expenses bill
Northern Ireland MPs Iris Robinson and her husband Peter both tried to claim for the same £1,223 expenses bill on the same day.
Mrs Robinson, who once described homosexuality as an "abomination", was exposed in the latest round of expense receipts published by the Daily Telegraph.
The Democratic Unionist Party MPs have come under scrutiny for their financial affairs before, with a tabloid newspaper reporting last month that they claim almost £600,000 a year in salaries and expenses.
The double claim was rejected by officials, as was a claim for a total of £10,860 in mortgage interest payments made by the couple – covering five months – because they did not provide mortgage interest statements as proof. It was not clear whether the money was paid to them or if they eventually submitted evidence of the interest.
Between 2004 and 2008, the couple claimed a total of £159,208 on their east London flat, most of which went on mortgage interest repayments.They bought the flat in 2001 for £450,000.
They also claimed £30,525 for food between 2004 and 2008, reaching the £400 limit most months.
In response, Mr Robinson described the double claim for the £1,223 bill as “an innocent mistake”.
He said: “The two claim forms were prepared for the signature of my wife and myself by the same person. They are signed separately and then sent together in the one envelope. Anyone in the fees office would have been dealing with the claims together and inevitably would have noticed the innocent mistake. It is clear that this one duplicate entry over many years was an innocent error and happily was spotted.”
He added that the £100 per week claims for food were "not unreasonable", although he said none of the couple's children had spent "more than half a dozen nights in the apartment over the years”.
Mrs Robinson earns £63,291 for her position as an MP, £24,296 as an Assembly member and as chairwoman of its health and social services committee and £9,550 as a councillor for the Castlereagh borough in Northern Ireland.
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