Tory MP repays £12,000 after Telegraph pressure

Simon Heffer declared his intention to run against Sir Alan Haselhurst.

Mr Heffer today became the latest high-profile individual driven by disgust at the expenses practices exposed by this newspaper to declare himself a potential candidate to unseat an MP whose expenses have caused concern.

Sir Alan Haselhurst, the Conservative deputy speaker, is repaying £12,000 of his MP's expenses.

In his latest column, he announced that he was prepared to run against Sir Alan, who is currently Mr Heffer’s MP for Saffron Walden in Essex, and who used his allowances to pay for £12,000-worth of gardening at his country house.

Mr Heffer had already been canvassing opinion in the constituency for some days when the MP announced yesterday that he was repaying the money.

"My claim for gardening help has caused concern," Sir Alan said.

"I deeply regret the public anger which the expenses revelations have understandably generated."

He said he will abide by any recommendations made by an independent audit body examining the expense claims.

But Sir Alan claimed: “The expense claims I made over recent years have been strictly in accordance with parliamentary rules.

“The designation of my constituency home as my second home instead of my rented flat in London was obligatory on my becoming Deputy Speaker.

“In terms of total expense claims I currently rank 582nd out of 646 MPs."

Mr Heffer said: "I set down some conditions that I hoped Sir Alan would feel able to abide by. From what he has said to his local newspaper, it appears he has seen sense.

“I can understand what a difficult business it must have been to reverse the position he took so stridently in his letter to his constituents last week.

“Obviously, if Sir Alan has done what I and others intended, then I will have no course to stand against him. I and his constituents must wait and see what indeed happens.

“I know there are many in the constituency who believe that to pay the money back and apologise is not enough and who would hope to have a new Conservative candidate. Clearly, this would be a matter for Sir Alan’s constituency association in Saffron Walden.”

Mr Heffer joined the growing ranks of public figures who have come forward offering to unseat MPs seen to have abused the system. They include Esther Rantzen, the broadcaster and campaigner, who confirmed on Tuesday that she would stand against Margaret Moran in Luton South unless the Labour MP resigned over her expenses, including £22,500-worth of dry rot treatment at a house 100 miles from her constituency.

Robert Harris, the writer, said he had considered challenging Alan Duncan, the shadow Leader of the House, whose gardening claims have attracted public outrage .

Lynn Faulds Wood, the television consumer campaigner, has also said that she is considering running for a parliamentary seat on an anti-sleaze ticket.

And in a sign that the next general election may prove even more colourful than Martin Bell’s “white suit” challenge to the disgraced Tory MP Neil Hamilton in 2001, David Van Day, the former Dollar singer, said he was planning to oppose Nadine Dorries, the Conservative who has spoken out against The Daily Telegraph’s investigation.

In his column, Mr Heffer explained his motivation for challenging Sir Alan for his Saffron Walden seat.

“If he does not, between now and the opening of nominations for the general election, admit error, apologise, pay back the £12,000 and promise to behave, I shall stand against him as an independent," he said.

"If Sir Alan thinks I am joking, I warn him I am not. I have backers and volunteers. I say this more in anger than in sorrow: we are all angry. Doesn’t he get it?”