Sir Peter Viggers had a similar arrangement with the fees office to Douglas Hogg
Sir Peter, the MP for Gosport, submitted an invoice for a “Stockholm” duck house to the Commons fees office.
The 'Stockholm' duck house is almost 5ft high and is designed to provide protection for the birds
The floating structure, which is almost 5ft high and is designed to provide protection for the birds, is based on an 18th-century building in Sweden. The receipt, from a firm specialising in bird pavilions, said: “Price includes three anchor blocks, duck house and island.”
It was announced last night that following the disclosures, Sir Peter will retire at the next election.
Sir Peter, a qualified jet pilot, lawyer and banker, has been an MP for 25 years and is a member of the Treasury select committee. He lists his recreations in Who’s Who as opera, travel and trees.
His expenses files reveal that he was paid more than £30,000 of taxpayers’ money for “gardening” over three years, including nearly £500 for 28 tons of manure.
He had a similar arrangement with the fees office to Douglas Hogg, submitting an annual list of the costs of maintaining his second home and then dividing them across the year for monthly payments.
Mr Hogg, who has said he will stand down at the next election, included with his expenses the cost of having a moat cleared. Sir Peter included his duck island. His handwritten list of spending for the financial year 2006-07 amounted to £33,747.19 and included “pond feature £1,645”.
In March 2007 he submitted a single claim of £18,522.59 for the final seven months of the financial year, noting that he understood it would be “limited by the annual maximum”. The fees office reduced the claim to £10,769.94 accordingly.
It was unclear whether he received money specifically for the duck island. A fees officer scrawled “not allowable” next to it. Sir Peter also submitted a £213.95 electrician’s bill including fixing lights on a “fountain” and “hanging lights on Christmas tree”. The year before, the annual costs Sir Peter had submitted came to £24,164.96. He asked for part of that to be paid under a separate office costs allowance. They included £6,960 on gardening, £1,800 on grass cutting and estate management, £533.23 on garden design, £460 on pest control, and £250 on irrigation. He submitted “sample invoices” of £782.50 and £750.
In February 2007 officials wrote to Sir Peter asking him to submit claims based on “actual costs” per month. In 2007-08, the costs of maintaining his second home rose to £36,158.93 including £19,000 on gardening and £3,275 for roof and chimney repairs. He reached the maximum allowed by December 2007.
Sir Peter was educated at Cambridge and served as an industry minister under Margaret Thatcher.
He owns a flat in central London and sold his second home last year for £800,000.
In a statement, Sir Peter said: “The claims I made were in accordance with the rules, and were all approved by the fees office. Since then the situation has changed and we must all take account of that.As with all other Conservative MPs, my expenses are being examined by David Cameron’s scrutiny panel and I await any recommendations they may make.
“I am pleased that the committee chaired by Sir Christopher Kelly is carrying out a fundamental review and I look forward to its report.”
His refusal to explain his claims in detail, however, meant that he risked a stand-off with David Cameron, who has made clear that “excessive” amounts will have to be paid back.
Sir Peter Viggers
Job: backbench Conservative MP
Salary: £64,766
Total second home claims
2004-05: £20,371
2005-06: £19,927
2006-07: £22,110
2007-08: £23,083
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