MEP may have 'breached rules'

John Purvis was first elected to the European Parliament in 1979

A Scottish MEP may have breached the rules on European Parliament expenses.

John Purvis has been paying staff in his parliamentary office through a company of which he is a partner.

A spokeswoman for Mr Purvis said he had been paying staff through the firm for a number of years and had sought clarification in January 2007.

She said the Conservative MEP did not know if he had breached the rules but added that officials were investigating why he was not given clarification.

Mr Purvis was elected to serve in the European Parliament as a member for Mid-Scotland and Fife in 1979.

He returned to the parliament in 1999 as one of Scotland's MEPs and was re-elected in 2004 for a further five-year term.

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