DUP's Jim Shannon: Expenses are '˜kosher'

Claims relating to Jim Shannon, DUP MP for Strangford, are currently being investigated by the compliance officer for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).

The rare formal probe concerns a claim by the Strangford MP relating to travel and subsistence, but no further details of the alleged wrongdoing will be published until it had been concluded.

However, Mr Shannon himself told the News Letter yesterday that the matter being being queried relates to mileage claims by staff in Northern Ireland.

It is thought they relate to land-based mileage claims, as opposed to air travel.

It is not clear how many members of staff’s claims may be involved.

He would not be drawn about the sums involved.

“The mileage is all determined. It has all been claimed correctly,” he said.

“The evidence is there for it. And they want to see that... it’s all there.”

The Strangford MP said that he had spoken to each member of his staff and that in each case they had shown him evidence to support each of the claims.

“The whole thing is kosher,” he said.

“The staff work extremely hard – as I do.”

Asked when the whole matter may be concluded, he replied: “Hopefully as soon as possible... hopefully it’ll be within weeks.”

IPSA compliance officer Peter Davis has faced criticism for settling almost all his cases without any publicity – despite promising to disclose the outcome of all investigations.

The approach – recently laid bare in a response to a Freedom of Information request – emerged after Mr Davis was criticised for failing to announce that claims by three MPs had been referred to police last year.

Mr Davis (who is funded by IPSA and answerable to its board, but whose job is to act independently), was previously forced to back down when he proposed carrying out investigations in secret to prevent “reputational damage” to MPs.

But new details of his casework suggests he has been avoiding disclosure by staging in-depth “assessments” of complaints, during which politicians can hand back money or resolve issues without facing formal “investigations”.

Some 40 “assessments” were undertaken in 2014-15, but just one – relating to Tory Bob Blackman’s mileage claims – became a formal investigation and was therefore revealed publicly.

FIGURES:

Last year, Mr Shannon was the highest-claiming MP, with a total of £205,798.23 in taxpayer-funded expenses, excluding travel.

Last week, the News Letter also revealed that he is – by a long way – the most vocal MP in Parliament.

In the past year, he spoke 247 times – 99 times more than his nearest rival – and also took part in 71.3 per cent of votes and tabled 789 written questions.

When the extent of his participation was put to him, Mr Shannon said he had been unaware that he held the record.