Gosport Mp Peter Viggers claims for bespoke window shutters (From This is Hampshire)

Gosport Mp Peter Viggers claims for bespoke window shutters

1:02pm Thursday 10th December 2009

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More stories about: duck house, Peter Viggers

duck house-claiming Hampshire MP Peter Viggers spent hundreds of pounds of taxpayers' money on custom-made window shutters for his country house.

The Tory MP for Gosport, who is quitting Parliament at the next election, asked for the shutters for his box sash windows to be "constructed to [the] pattern of the originals". The bill, submitted to the Fees Office in March 2008, came to £669.75.

Mr Viggers has already agreed to repay £10,000 in relation to claims made for "gardening, repairs and maintenance" over the past four years after it was revealed he claimed £30,000 for gardening and appeared to submit a claim for a floating duck island.

But details of his claims between April 2008 and March this year show he continued to claim £6,648 over 12-months for gardening services, £1,410 for grass cutting and £220 for garden irrigation.

Mr Viggers was rapped on the knuckles by the Fees Office after he bought a new home in August 2008 - claiming more than £9,000 for stamp duty in the process - and tried to increase his claims for mortgage interest from £149.58 to £3176.40 a month - a 20-fold rise.

A hand-written note by a Commons official said: "Spoke to Sir Peter. Not appropriate to claim interest on increased borrowing taken to free equity of house. Agreed to reimburse interest equal to original borrowing for period leading to purchase of new property."

Between April and June this year, during which Mr Vigger's duck house claims were exposed, the MP claimed nothing.

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