Alistair Darling billed us for two homes at the same time

Alistair Darling, Chancellor of the Exchequer

In July 2007, Mr Darling submitted a £1,004 claim for a service charge on his south London flat 10 days after he became Chancellor. It covered the six-month period to the end of December 2007.

At the time, Mr Darling moved into Downing Street and began to claim second home allowances for his grace-and-favour apartments, meaning that costs relating to two of the Chancellor's homes were being met by the taxpayer. That would appear to contravene parliamentary rules that allow MPs to claim on only one property at a time. He was also receiving rent for his flat from at least September 2007.

Chancellor Alistair Darling owns a flat at Imperial Court, 225 Kennington Lane, London

Mr Darling bought the flat - near the Oval cricket ground in south London - for £226,000 in 2005 and went on to claim £2,260 in stamp duty and £6,000 on furnishings and carpets. He is now thought to make at least £5,000 per year from the rent after mortgage costs are deducted. Mr Darling's expenses file also shows that he claimed for tax advice relating to the rental of the flat.

It has already been disclosed that Mr Darling is a "serial flipper" who has designated four properties as his second home in four years. He has also employed an accountant at taxpayers' expense to complete his self-assessment forms.

The disclosures come on the 25th day of The Daily Telegraph's investigation into MPs' expenses, with Gordon Brown under growing pressure to deal with members of his Cabinet who have made questionable claims.

On Sunday, Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, singled out the Chancellor's expenses claims and demanded that Mr Darling be sacked. "As Chancellor, Alistair Darling occupies a very special position in Government," he said. "He needs to enjoy the public's trust when it comes to issues of financial probity, of money, of managing our nation's finances.

"And given that very unique responsibility that he has, it's simply impossible for him to continue in that role when such very major question marks are being raised about his financial affairs."

The fate of Mr Darling was already uncertain with persistent rumours that he might be the most high-­profile victim of a reshuffle expected within days of this week's local and European elections.

On Saturday, The Daily Telegraph reported that the Prime Minister was being urged to consider reaching out to the Liberal Democrats to join a new Cabinet, with Vince Cable a possibility to replace Mr Darling.

Yesterday, Mr Cable not only ruled out joining a Labour government but joined his leader in calling for Mr Darling to be fired. He said the Chancellor had been caught with his "fingers in the till". Speculation is mounting that Ed Balls, the Schools Secretary, may get the post.

The Prime Minister refused to back Cabinet ministers accused of milking the expenses system when challenged on BBC television's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday morning.

When asked about James Purnell, Geoff Hoon and Mr Darling, Mr Brown said: “These things are being looked at by what you might call the Committee of the House of Commons with independent auditors.

“Where there is wrong­doing, it will be exposed. Where people need to be punished, they will be punished. Where repayment needs to be made, it will be made.

“I did not come into politics to allow a situation to develop where MPs ran away with money that they didn’t deserve.”

Last night, Bob Thomson, a former chairman and treasurer of the Scottish Labour Party, said Mr Darling’s position was “untenable”.

“As the person in charge of the tax regime, who has flipped homes four times, his position is untenable,” he said. “He certainly shouldn’t be in the Cabinet.

“If something like this had happened years ago, he would have had to resign from the House of Commons as well as Labour.”

Fears are growing that Labour will be pushed into third or even fourth place in this week’s local and European elections and Mr Brown will be fighting for his political survival in the wake of the expenses scandal.

The claims made by more than 550 of the country’s 646 MPs have now been exposed by this newspaper. Today, it can be disclosed that:

• Evan Harris, a senior Liberal Democrat MP, spent thousands of pounds on his taxpayer-funded second home before selling it to his parents.

• Michael Howard, the former Conservative leader, claimed more than £17,000 for ­ "gardening services" at his second home in Kent over four years.

• Gwyn Prosser, a Labour MP, paid his brother from his taxpayer-funded expenses to carry out work on his London flat - despite the fact that he lived almost 200 miles away. He also submitted claims on his parliamentary allowances for work carried out on another London flat that he owned although it had not been his designated second home for three years and he was renting it out.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland said yesterday that a love of money had caused politicians to “fall from grace”.

In a homily delivered at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh, Cardinal Keith O’Brien gave warning that society had become “amoral” because those in power refused to tell the public how to behave.