by political editor Paul Francis

Maidstone and Weald MP Ann Widdecombe has hit out at a review of MPs' expenses saying it was "lazy, incompetent and unreasonable".

The MP's forthright attack came after Sir Thomas Legg revealed the findings of his review and audit of MPs' allowances. He will say some 390 MPs should repay a total of £1.12million.

Ms Widdecombe was among those who had contested a demand to repay some money. She says while she has agreed to pay back a small sum of £230, she has been cleared of any abuse of the system.

As part of his inquiry into MPs' claims, Sir Thomas applied retrospective limits under certain categories. Ms Widdecombe said she had been told there was no evidence of abuse because there had been no limit on gardening expenditure at the time she made the claim.

The MP said: "Honour has been satisfied and I have sent a cheque off. However, I do think the Legg inquiry has been lazy, incompetent and unreasonable. Why put retrospective limits on some allowances but not on others? He has never answered that argument."

She warned the Legg report - which has audited all expenses claims made by MPs between 2004 and 2008 - was unlikely to put an end to controversy over allowances and a better option would be to end the expenses and pay MPs more.

She added: "It [the Legg report] will draw a line under what has gone on up until now but what we have ended up with is the worst of all worlds. I can see problems developing in the first five minutes [of the new system]. They should have scrapped the allowances and raised salaries."

Meanwhile, Folkestone and Hythe MP Michael Howard has repaid £7,039 after also contesting a ruling to return more than £13,000, claimed over five years for gardening and house maintenance costs.

The former Conservative party leader said he had been partially successful in an appeal to have the amount he was originally asked to repay reduced.

Mr Howard said: "I pointed out to him that a large part of what he thought was claimed for gardening was actually maintenance for the house, on which there was no limit. He reduced that to £7,039 and my challenge and appeal succeeded on that."

Mr Howard went on to make a further appeal to Sir Paul Kennedy, who was appointed to deal with MPs’ protests. However, Sir Paul told him he was unable to rule on the retrospective limits for allowances set by Sir Thomas Legg.

Mr Howard said the experience had left a bitter taste as he had done nothing improper. He said: "I did nothing improper at all and acted entirely properly but retrospective limits were put in that were entirely unreasonable."

Mr Howard’s claims hit the headlines after the Daily Telegraph reported that he had claimed thousands of pounds for gardening services at his designated second home in Kent.

Labour MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey Derek Wyatt has also lodged an appeal over a demand he repay some money but that has yet to be resolved.
Under new procedures, all MPs allowances are in future to be overseen by the new Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.