It appears that Andrew Turner has taken a sudden vow of silence … on certain subjects at least.
Not only is he not prepared to reassure Isle of Wight voters that he’s not going to jump to UKIP, he’s also giving the silent treatment to the County Press over their questions on his MP’s expenses.
One of the CP’s questions that’s left hanging is
When you lived in Cowes, it was designated your main home. When you moved to Newport in 2003, it was designated your second home. Why did you change the designation?
The real danger to Andrew Turner’s credibility might not be from the Island’s media (much as they might like to think otherwise), but from the hallowed-organ, Private Eye.
Private Eye – Top story in HP Sauce
The Private Eye’s report on the issue is the top story in their HP Sauce (which carries their Westminster coverage).
Being National, it doesn’t suffer from what blighted the Island-based reaction to last week’s accusations of Andrew Turner incorrectly claiming over £100k in MP’s expenses – that of David Pugh having been involved the the preparation of the dossier, which drew most of the heat here.
Instead Private Eye focuses on the facts as they see them.
As is their way, they cut through most of the 52 page report to what their vast journalistic experience identifies as the killer points.
We’ve reproduced four of the sections of their report below.
For those who want to read through the (very) thorough documents provided to the parliamentary body, they are, for the first time, available in full below.
Turner told authorities he lives permanently in South London
[Andrew] Turner claimed more than £100,000 in mortgage payments and other expenses for his five-bedroom house in Newport.Turner, also had a flat in south London and assured the Commons authorities that he lived there permanently with his girlfriend, Carole Dennett (whom he also put on the parliamentary payroll) so that he could claim second-home payments for the Isle of Wight house.
Turner Website: “The Isle of Wight is my home”
Yet on his website he boasted: “The Isle of Wight is my home. I live with Carole and our rescue dog Pickle in the country town of Newport right at the heart of the Island.”
His Website insists that “since his election to parliament in 2001 Andrew has worked tirelessly for the Islanders both at Home and at Westminster”.
So clearly home was Newport – yet in each year from 2004/5 Turner claimed more than £19,000 from the taxpayer by pretending Newport was just used for a few constituency visits.
Calculated Turner spent nearly twice as much time in Newport as London
Andrew Turner “was in London for just three nights a week when the House was in session. Otherwise he lived in Newport.
Allowing for parliamentary recess (when MPs don’t need to be there), they have calculated that Turner spent nearly twice as much time in Newport as London while pocketing thousands … on the basis that his Newport home was a second home.”
Turner also claimed single person’s council tax
[Andrew Turner] also got the taxpayer to pay his £7,806.46 council tax bill in Newport, leaving him to pay only £3,824.46 on his London flat; and claimed a single person’s discount even though he told the Commons it was his principal residence and is jointly owned with Mr Dennett.
The dossier
Here’s the very detailed report and appendix that was submitted to the Parliamentary body that decided not to take the accusations any further, following the shredding of all of Andrew Turner’s expenses paperwork.
Image: ben_on_the_move under CC BY 2.0
