Whatever his contributions to the House, outgoing Tory MP Sir Peter Viggers will
go down in history as "the duck island guy". But according to the latest
MPs' expenses
claims published today, he's not the only Member doing his bit for the garden
industry at public expense - or at least, trying to.
Here are our top 10:
10.
David Heathcoat-Amory (Con, Wells) -
£2.99 for slug pellets
9.
Douglas Hogg (Con, Sleaford & North Hykeham) -
£4.99
for weedkiller. A modest claim from the MP who famously asked for £2,200 back for
moat cleaning.
8.
David Miliband (Lab, South Shields; Foreign Secretary) -
£132.96, made up of £115 labour (£11.50/hour) and £17.96 for five bags of bark chippings
7.
Sir Alan Haselhurst (Con, Uttlesford; Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons) -
£135.13 for tree surgery
6.
James Arbuthnot (Con, Hampshire North East) -
£138 for "chainsaw for logs"
5.
Barbara
Follett (Lab, Stevenage) -
£209 for "automatic plant watering system"
4.
Sir Michael
Lord (Con, Central Suffolk and North Ipswich) -
£220 for "garden maintenance - grass cutting, rough cutting, strimming"
3.
Gordon
Brown (Lab, Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath; Prime Minister) -
£870, including £500 for repainting summer house in the garden of his
constituency home, £175 for
grass cutting and £195 general gardening (at £10/hour)
2.
Chris
Huhne (LibDem, Eastleigh) -
£1,975.80 on gardening, including a £70 lawn weed
treatment and a £21 Kilmarnock willow, as well as regular maintenance at
£14/hour+VAT. Since the retrospective change in the rules, capping gardening
expenses at £1,000, has paid back excess.
1. Still
well out in front,
Sir Peter Viggers (Con, Gosport)
-
£8,278, made up of general gardening at £554 a month (£16.25/hour); grass cutting a
further £1410; irrigation £220 ("2 services @£110"). Rejected as "not appropriate" by Whitehall staff.
