Andrew Black Political reporter, BBC Scotland news website

Of all the MSPs who might welcome the recommendations of the independent review of their allowances, Mike Rumbles does not immediately spring to mind as one of them.

Mr Rumbles urged MSPs to accept the review findings

Among the 68 recommendations of the probe were scrapping the right of MSPs in far-flung constituencies to claim back interest on mortgages for properties they bought in Edinburgh.

Mr Rumbles, Liberal Democrat MSP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, earlier told the review - headed by academic Sir Alan Langlands - he did not wish to "live out of hotel rooms for years on end".

He said he did not think it unreasonable to get help, under the controversial �11,400-a-year Edinburgh accommodation allowance, to live in his own home while on duty in the Scottish capital.

But Mr Rumbles has now urged MSPs of all parties to accept the report's recommendations - even though he argued the new arrangements would cost the taxpayer more and he would lose out personally.

I can't believe this review has decided that we have goats and sheep working in here side-by-side Margo MacDonald Independent MSP

He said: "If they want us to go into hotels, fair enough. If they want us to rent apartments fair enough. I'm happy to do that."

It was time, Mr Rumbles said, to draw a line under the situation and get on with serving the voters.

"As far as I was concerned, there was a huge amount of misinformation that was pedalled about Edinburgh accommodation," added the MSP, who has himself been accused of "trading up" under the allowance scheme.

"It would seem as though MSPs were feathering their nests - and that was ridiculous."

It was another recommendation that got independent MSP Margo Macdonald's goat.

She took issue with the suggestion of a �62,000 staff allowance for constituency MSPs and �45,000 for list ones.

Ms MacDonald - a Lothians list MSP - dismissed the argument that the two types had to manage different casework loads.

"I can't believe this review has decided that we have goats and sheep working in here side-by-side," she said.

Patrick Harvie hit out at several of the recommendations

"I can't believe they would judge the volume of work that I do, as compared to the quality of work that some other MSPs might do. You can't do that."

Green MSP Patrick Harvie welcomed any move to end "taxpayers' support for MSPs' mortgages", but had other concerns.

The Glasgow list MSP said the allowances report's recommendation on separate caps for staffing and office costs would hit those attempting to cut office bills to pay staff better salaries.

Mr Harvie added: "The decision to pay staff of constituency members substantially more than their regional counterparts is particularly insulting. Staff working for regional members cover a far wider area."

And although not a Socialist MSP anymore, Tommy Sheridan, a long-time critic of the Edinburgh accommodation allowance, said it was a disgrace that MSPs had taken so long to "drag their snouts from the trough".

"MSPs of all parties in the parliament have pocketed huge sums from speculating on the Edinburgh property market at taxpayers' expense," he said.