MPs' expenses: Barbara Follett claims �25k for security at second home
MP Barbara Follett claimed more than �25,000 of taxpayers' money for private security patrols around her second home in London, it has been revealed. The Stevenage MP, whose constituency includes Knebworth and Codicote, had told Parliament's fees office
MP Barbara Follett claimed more than �25,000 of taxpayers' money for private security patrols around her second home in London, it has been revealed.
The Stevenage MP, whose constituency includes Knebworth and Codicote, had told Parliament's fees office she feared for her personal safety after being mugged and followed by a stalker.
The Daily Telegraph reported she also charged the public purse for the upkeep of CCTV monitors and a burglar alarm system at her four-storey property in Soho.
Mrs Follett claimed a �937 annual insurance premium for art on display there, as well as �384 to clean its eight chimneys.
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And she claimed �528.75 for a Chinese needlepoint rug to be repaired and cleaned, but was only given �300 after it was deemed excessive.
In a statement issued to the WHT, Mrs Follett said: "I believe it is of the utmost importance our democracy is transparent and accountable.
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"It is why I have published a breakdown of my expenses on my website for several years now.
"It is also why I have absolutely no objection all the receipts I use to validate the claims I make against the allowances I am entitled to as an MP being made public."
She added: "I have put far more into running my constituency advice office."
Mrs Follett's main residence is a former rectory in Knebworth.
She and her husband, millionaire bestselling novelist Ken Follett, also own a flat in South London, a house in Cape Town and a holiday home in Antigua.
