MP SIMON Hoare has responded to reports he claimed motoring penalties on his Parliamentary expenses.

The Conservative member for North Dorset was among MPs named in a report by The Independent newspaper which said he had claimed ‘penalties’ incurred while driving, back from the taxpayer.

Mr Hoare has now clarified the situation, saying he claimed for congestion and Ultra Low Emission Zone charges (ULEZ) for two journeys in London in November 2019, after receiving advice from the Parliamentary expenses watchdog, IPSA, the claims were allowed.

This advice was taken in error, and Mr Hoare has since repaid the £340 claimed.

In a full statement provided to your New Blackmore Vale, Mr Hoare said: “First, in your email to me you describe it as a furore. I really do not think that eight emails from constituents, no telephone calls or letters could be described as a furore.

“Clearly my constituents know me well and know how seriously I take these issues. Always have. Always will.

“Claiming taxpayer-provided funds needs full transparency and adherence to both the spirit and the letter of the rules. I always provide both.

“Second it is not an ‘expenses scandal’, it was bad advice provided by IPSA, which we took. They gave the wrong advice and made the wrong decisions in repaying me £340. This has been recognised by IPSA in an email to me from the chief executive and in their subsequent public statements.

“The money has been repaid by me. I had already paid it to TFL. IPSA paid me back. I have repaid IPSA. I was only able to repay it after the story broke because I knew nothing about it. IPSA neglected to alert me about the story to allow for a pre-publication repayment. Another error for which IPSA have apologised to me via email.

“The four penalty charges (they are explicitly not fines) equates to one week: two for a Monday travelling to Westminster (Congestion Charge and ULEZ) and two for the Thursday, for the return journey.

“This took place in November 2019. For four years prior and three years to date subsequently, I have had no problem paying the Congestion Charge and where applicable ULEZ.

“This was a technical registration glitch with the TFL website when I drove a new car to Westminster. The new car had been registered by TfL. The AutoPay function hadn’t. It was either human or IT error. We will never know for certain. It explicitly was not a case to defraud.

“It was also explicitly not speeding, parking, parking in a disabled or delivery bay, sitting in a yellow box junction or anything else.

“These were not fines. They are different under law, as a KC has advised me.

“I have previously incurred a speeding fine and undertaken a speed awareness course. Both incurred while undertaking Parliamentary duties. I would no more have thought of claiming from IPSA for these than chopping off my left hand (I am left handed).

“I appreciate that £340 is a considerable sum. But I would ask people to ask this question: does anyone honestly believe that I would risk my name, professional reputation and personal integrity for £340?

“I wouldn’t. I didn’t. I never would.

“My pinned tweet is an ancient quote urging that we should know what is true before we become angry. There is, I would contend, no need for anger here. An honest mistake by IPSA and me? Yes. The public purse out of pocket? No. An attempt to defraud or cheat? No. The enactment of a sense of entitlement or ‘the rules don’t apply to me’?. Not in my nature or DNA.

“To close, another quote – to err is human. To forgive divine.”