Ian Davidson paid friend £5,500 to renovate flat then took him shooting

Mr Davidson said permission to employ his 'family friend' had been specifically requested from the fees office

Mr Davidson also had reclining furniture that cost nearly £1,500 delivered to his Glasgow home when he was claiming his Commons allowance on the flat in south London. He said the suite was later driven to London.

The MP claimed for both bills and was paid in full.

Expenses claims show that Mr Davidson, a member of the Commons public accounts committee, arranged for a handyman from Glasgow to renovate his south London flat between 2005-06 and 2007-08.

The Labour MP for Glasgow South West took the handyman, who he described as a “family friend”, shooting at two events organised by the National Rifle Association.

In one match he was on a Commons’ team against the House of Lords. Mr Davidson said he “could not recall” whether the handyman paid his own costs.

Claims filed under the Additional Costs Allowance show that Mr Davidson ordered reclining furniture worth £1,459 in March 2007.

Under the Green Book rules, the allowance can only reimburse MPs for “expenses wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred when staying overnight away from their main UK residence ... for the purpose of performing their parliamentary duties.”

A note from a Commons official concerning Mr Davidson paying a property search agency to help him find a new flat records how the MP “had already claimed £1,000 of taxpayers’ money with nothing to show for it. Concerned about how long this would go on for.

“Mr Davidson explained that he wanted to use the agency because — away from home a lot — no time to house hunt — unfamiliar with English house-hunting. He had not expected this to take so long. The market was difficult — not sure how much longer it would take.

“Not sure about terms of contract but that he might have to pay £5k in all. He didn’t remember who he spoke to originally who had authorised this spend.”

In the event, the bill for finding Mr Davidson a flat came to £6,000. The fees’ office agreed a proportion of this sum. He also billed the taxpayer for more than £11,000 to move flat.

Mr Davidson said permission to employ his “family friend” had been “specifically requested from the fees office and agreed on the basis that it would be cheaper than employing a London firm.

He said: “He accompanied me on two occasions to a shooting match with the National Rifle Association. Since a competition had already been arranged to shoot at Bisley, I sought and was given agreement for him to participate as my guest.”

Mr Davidson said he had the furniture delivered to Glasgow “since someone is invariably in and my London house is on a bus lane with double red lines.” He said he hired a property search company because he had “spent many fruitless hours looking for a suitable property and then decided to seek professional help”. The fees office had agreed it was an “acceptable cost”.


Ian Davidson

MP for Glasgow south-west

Salary £64,766

2004-05 £20,901

2005-06 £21,610

2006-07 £22,105

2008-09 £23,083