The shadow defence secretary, Liam Fox, today lost his appeal against a ruling that he should pay back £22,500 of expenses. Fox had repaid the cash, by far the highest amount in the shadow cabinet, before the decision. The contentious claim, for £22,476.03, related to his decision to remortgage his second home to pay for redecorations and claim the higher interest repayments on his expenses. He said his claims represented value for money because he could have charged the taxpayer for the decorating bills directly.
The millionaire claims he is 'out of pocket' as a result of the ruling
But Sir Paul Kennedy, the former high court judge hearing MPs' appeals against orders to pay back expenses claims, dismissed Fox's appeal. "What you claimed was not recoverable under the rules then in force," Kennedy said. "I entirely accept that, like many others, you could have made other claims if the fees office had rejected your claims for mortgage interest, and that you may well have spent some of what you raised by increasing your mortgage on your constituency home, but the evidence is imprecise, and my terms of reference only allow me to interfere if I find special reasons in your individual case showing that it would not be fair and equitable to require repayment, either at all or at the level recommended."
Commenting on Kennedy's ruling, Fox said: "When Sir Thomas Legg said that the fees office had overpaid my mortgage interest over six years I immediately repaid the money as I never wanted to have any funds I was not entitled to. I am delighted that Sir Paul Kennedy has acknowledged that had the fees office rejected this at the outset, I would have been able to claim directly for work carried out on my property. While out of pocket as a result, I feel vindicated that I acted at all times in good faith."
Aswell as being an MP, Liam Fox is also a lecturer for the medical educational firm Arrest Ltd, for which he earns £25,000 for 14 days' work; he has an estimated wealth of £1m.
