'David Cameron took out maximum taxpayer-funded mortgage - then paid off own £75k loan four months later'  (Cameron, expenses, Conservatives)  posted on Sunday 31st of May 2009 at 1.38 pm

Honourable Gentleman David Cameron MP (Cons) clean as a whistle..

The Mail on Sunday today reports:

"David Cameron was dragged personally into the expenses row last night after it was revealed that he paid off a loan on his London home shortly after taking out a £350,000 taxpayer-funded mortgage on his constituency house.

The disclosure followed a powerful call by the Tory leader yesterday for the 'full force of the law' to be deployed against MPs who have abused allowances.

Following a Mail on Sunday investigation Mr Cameron could now face searching questions about his own expense claims.

He took out the £350,000 mortgage - close to the maximum amount that can be claimed for - to buy a large house in Oxfordshire in August 2001, two months after winning his Witney seat in the General Election. By nominating it as his second home, he was able to claim for the mortgage interest payments under the now-infamous Commons' Additional Costs Allowance (ACA).

Just four months after securing the £350,000 mortgage, Mr Cameron paid off the £75,000 loan on his London home, taken out only six years earlier."

Ooopsie.

[update]"The Young Conservative" in his blog of 13th May wrote: Expenses: Conservatives Come Off Worse"
"TYC's Verdict: Cameron is spot on - if any MP can't keep their fingers out of the public purse, they should keep their backsides off the green benches."

Ouch, Dave.[/update]