A HAMPSHIRE MP has defended spending £7,000 in refurbishing his second home and has said he will not pay back any of his expenses.

Last night Dr Julian Lewis, MP for New Forest East said “there is absolutely nothing improper” about his allowance claims that included a £789 washer/dryer, £346 on new bathroom taps and a £119 trouser press.

Residents react to MP's expenses

After becoming one of the latest MPs to have their allowance claims revealed to the public, the Conservative MP told the Daily Echo he had used the Additional Costs Allowance – ACA – system “exactly the way it was meant to be used.”

“It wasn’t an upgrade for anything. It was to replace items like-for-like that were already there but didn’t work or needed replacing,” he said.

Despite claims he was turned down by Commons officials for a £6,000 wooden floor because it was “too extravagant” Dr Lewis said that he never asked to claim it through allowances.

“It was part of a list of work which I requested advice on what could be claimed for,” he said. “I never intended to claim allowances for the wooden floor.”

The Shadow Defence spokesman also stressed the need for second homes, and their furnishings and appliances, because of the time needed to be spent in London carrying out Parliamentary duties.

When asked about claiming £4 for wax polish and £5 for a sweater tidy, Dr Lewis said that smaller items would “probably have been part of a list of items” he would have claimed for and couldn’t remember the details behind every claim.

“This is a no-win situation,” he said. “Over four years, that’s 48 months of claims, I spent around £300 on small items. I cannot be expected to remember them all but if needed I will happily trawl through the paper work and provide an explanation for each one.”

‘Flipping’ Dr Lewis stressed that within the limits of the system he could have claimed for “hundreds” of other items but didn’t.

“I have a plasma TV and a DVD recorder and player which I bought myself. Unlike some MPs I don’t buy anything that is to do with entertainment through the allowances,” he said.

Dr Lewis, who has been New Forest East MP since 1997, was previously in the media spotlight for ‘flipping’ his designated second home.

After buying a flat in Westminster in 2004 he then registered it as his second home instead of his constituency home in Totton.

Therefore he could claim home allowances for mortgage interest payments, service charges and utility bills on the flat.

Daily Echo: More in today's Daily Echo