Michael Howard paid £44,000 to Conservatives

The former minister made regular payments to the Folkestone and Hythe Conservative Association as part of his incidental expenses provision. In total he claimed £44,760 between 2004 and 2008.

A week ago it emerged that six members of the shadow cabinet used their office expenses to pay their party more than £150,000.

Alan Duncan, shadow leader of the House of Commons, paid £42,000 to the Rutland and Melton Conservative Association, while Michael Gove, shadow children's secretary, paid £27,000 to Surrey Heath Conservative Association.

Three Cabinet ministers were also found to have paid tens of thousands of pounds to the Labour Party through their local party associations.

Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, paid £30,000 rent to Labour for letting office space from his local constituency party, while John Hutton, the Defence Secretary, claimed a similar amount.

There are fears that the money could be funnelled into general accounts, which could be used to fund campaigning.

According to The Green Book of rules, MPs must avoid arrangements which may give rise to the accusation that money is being diverted for the benefit of a political organisation.

Last night Mr Howard said all office expenses paid to his local Conservative association were just, and that there was "no element of profit or benefit involved".

In September 2004, he claimed for £6,772 for his local association.

In April 2005, he claimed £9,000 for employment costs, telephone, utilities, cleaning, computers and advertising for his surgery.

A year later he claimed £9,000 for the use of the association's premises, insurance and general costs. In 2006-07, he submitted a claim for £9,990. In October 2007, he submitted claims for £4,999, and he claimed the same amount last year.

Last night, Mr Howard said: "All the payments I make to the association are to defray the costs it incurs in providing the services you mention to me. There is no element of profit or benefit involved.

"My association offices are in the centre of Folkestone.

"I hold regular advice centres there and frequently use them for other meetings with constituents and other delegations who wish to see me in my role as Member of Parliament.

"I am assisted in the performance of my duties as a Member of Parliament by the staff employed by my association and of course make use of the computer and other office equipment. The charges for advertising relate entirely to the advertising of my constituency advice centres."

Last week, Mr Duncan said there was a clear distinction between parliamentary and political costs while Mr Benn said he had sent an independent valuation of the rent to the fees office.

Yesterday, it emerged that Mr Howard had claimed more than £17,000 for "gardening services" on his second home allowance in his constituency of Kent.

Michael Howard's £17,000 claims for gardening

Sandra and Michael Howard at their constituency home near Hythe.

Between 2004 and 2008, Mr Howard employed The Turned Worm Gardening Company in Hythe and another gardener to work on his property.

Over four years, he received invoices from both which came to a total of £17,351

In 2004-05, Mr Howard claimed £5,092 for "gardening services" – a figure greater than his total annual mortgage interest, utilities bill or council tax for his second home.

The following year he submitted an invoice for "summary of payments made for gardening duties" which was worth £1,783 and another bill from The Turned Worm Gardening Company for £1,617.

Mr Howard, who designated his house in London as his main home, was photographed with his wife Sandra in front of his countryside property, which has woodland
attached, in 2005.

In 2006-07, he submitted two more invoices from The Turned Worm for a total of £4,783.

In May 2007, he included in his additional costs allowance (ACA) a bill for £550 from a fencing company for work at the property.

That same year, Mr Howard submitted two further receipts for "garden maintenance" from The Turned Worm, which were worth £4,076.

Yesterday, the MP for Folkestone and Hythe insisted that not all the work was related to gardening and much of it included the upkeep of his second home, a claim to which he was entitled.

He said: "By no means all the sums claimed were for gardening services. The person who looks after the garden at my second home also maintains the house.

"The claim, therefore, was for general maintenance including the maintenance of the garden.

"I need a second home to perform my duties as a Member of Parliament and the maintenance of that home, including the garden, was a perfectly proper charge against the additional costs allowance."

Steve Hare, who owns The Turned Worm, said he carried out garden and house maintenance for Mr Howard.

"I spend most of my time doing the garden but I also do house maintenance for him," he said.

"If a drain needs unblocking, there is painting or a tree has come down, then they will call me to clear a tree from the drive."

For the month of December 2006, Mr Howard was charged £1,229 for "gardening duties" from an independent gardener and £395 from a gardening company. He passed the
cost of both on to the taxpayer.

Mr Howard said the former included a payment to the gardener as part of the termination of his employment and the latter cost was for general garden and house maintenance.

Mr Howard said that in a recent poll he was ranked the 17th least expensive Conservative and the 31st least expensive MP overall.

He wrote on his website on May 18: "The public are right to be angry about the conduct of those MPs who have abused the system."


SNAPSHOT

MIchael Howard

Job: MP for Folkestone & Hythe

Salary: £64,766

Total second home claims

2004-05: £18,935

2005-06: £21,634

2006-07: £19,283

2007-08: £18,200