Justice minister steps down over expenses
By politics.co.uk staff
The justice minister, Shahid Malik, has stepped down as justice minister, pending an inquiry into his expenses claims.
The inquiry was ordered by the prime minister.
Mr Malik came under fire today after it emerged he spent more than any other MP on second home allowance over three years, including a claim for a home cinema system.
Mr Malik’s main home, in his Dewsbury constituency, also came in for criticism, and appears to be the reason he has stepped down.
The Telegraph claimed he only paid £100 a week rent for a three-bedroom house.
The man he rented the house from, businessman Tahir Zaman, lives next door, and there are questions about potential conflicts of interest emerging from a member of parliament paying below-market rates.
But Mr Malik denies he paid less than the market rate.
Parliament was not notified of the deal however, triggering Sir Phillip Moore, independent advisor on minister interests, to investigate the matter.
Mr Zaman was once fined for renting a house to a family despite a council order describing it as uninhabitable, the Telegraph reported this morning.
Mr Malik’s cinema system cost £2,600, but the claim was cut in half by the Commons Fees Office.
“I read the green book, which is our Bible – the rules – and to me it wasn’t clear [if there was a limit to the claim],” Shahid Malik told the BBC today.
“I then spoke to the advice team and asked if there was a limit. They said there was no limit. I made the purchase, put the claim in, and then they said: ‘well, there’s a limit’.”
Mr Malik also spent £730 for a massage chair.
“I love my constituents,” he said. “I love my country.”
“There are about 500 MPs who have spent a very similar amount to me.
“David Cameron has spent almost as much as I have on his mansion, but no one is outside his home today.”
