Bercow: 'I did not spend �45,000'

Mr Bercow was elected as Commons Speaker in June

Commons Speaker John Bercow has denied allegations that he spent £45,000 re-decorating his grace-and-favour apartment in the Palace of Westminster.

The Daily Telegraph reported he spent £45,581 on work, including new wallpaper, furniture and televisions.

It says Mr Bercow previously admitted spending £20,000 making his apartment suitable for his family, but the true cost was more than twice this.

However the Speaker said he had no say in much of the spending.

In an e-mail to Telegraph editor William Lewis, Mr Bercow said the difference between the two sums, £20,000 and £45,581, was accounted for by the cost of maintenance required by the House authorities.

He stressed he had not personally asked for the work to be done.

'Invariably expensive'

Mr Bercow said: "The entire difference between that sum (£20,000) and the £45,000 figure you have publicised is due to maintenance that the House authorities contended was long overdue according to their own rulebook.

He added: "It is a matter of regret that, because of its status as a grade one listed building and a world heritage site, almost anything to do with the repair or refurbishment of Parliament is invariably expensive."

The £45,581 figure was obtained by the Telegraph under a freedom of information request.

The documents retrieved also show Mr Bercow has spent almost £13,000 over three months on entertaining and hospitality, including £3,599 on a three-night trip to Rome to attend a G8 Speakers' conference.

'One off'

In the election for Speaker after Michael Martin was forced out over his handling of the expenses crisis, Mr Bercow presented himself as a "clean break" and said he would no longer claim the MPs' second home allowance.

The historic central London apartment at the centre of the Telegraph allegations is provided for the Commons Speaker to live in while they hold their post.

The newspaper also quotes an e-mail exchange between Mr Bercow's wife and Commons authorities suggesting the latter had concerns over the scale of the spending on the apartment.

Mrs Bercow asked for a larger TV, a DVD player and wallpaper, the paper reports.

An official said: "My concern is that the list is getting longer, which isn't technically a problem, but I know that you are very mindful of the costs and only wish to do what is considered as 'reasonable'."

A source close to the Speaker said: "A lot of the other work is beyond the control of the Speaker and is determined by English Heritage and other bodies. Mr Bercow has no plans to do anything else, this is a one-off."

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