East Yorkshire MP Sir Greg Knight cost taxpayers £177,000 last year, according to new figures

Figures from the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) show the Conservative MP’s total business costs for the 2020-21 financial year were £177,887.11.

The MP’s costs were up from £172,578.88 the year before, but well below the average for all Members of Parliament, of £203,880.

By comparison, Darren Henry, a fellow Tory MP for Broxtowe, had costs of £280,900 last year, while Philip Hollobone, the member for Kettering, had just £80,700.

Sir Greg, who was elected in June 2001, spent £155,700 on office running costs in 2020-21, including £141,200 on staff wages and £14,500 on other office expenditures.

And he spent £21,500 of his accommodation budget (of £23,000), and a further £700 on travel and subsistence.

The total costs of MPs last year rose by 4%, to £132.5 million, with almost £300,000 going on hotel claims for just 49 members.

Business costs are the essential costs incurred by MPs while carrying out their parliamentary duties including staffing, office costs and travel.

MPs cannot claim for personal costs, such as food and drink, during their normal working day, and all claims must be compliant with IPSA rules and accompanied by evidence.

The IPSA figures also reveal the 184 individual claims made by Greg Knight in 2020-21, with the most expensive single claim being for staff payroll – £141,228.81.

At the other end of the scale, the smallest one-off expense the 72-year-old claimed was £1.50 for congestion charge and toll.

Sir Greg Knight’s five largest types of costs were:

1. Payroll – £141,228.81; 2. Rent – £15,738; 3. Pooled staffing services – £3,047; 4. Mobile telephone – contract and usage – £2,911.69; 5. Mileage – car – £1,302.30. He also spent £1,231.71 on a working from home allowance.

IPSA’s chairman, Richard Lloyd, said overall compliance with the rules was at 99.7% last year.

He added: “By far the largest area of spending is to pay for the salaries of MPs’ staff.”

John O’Connell, chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: “It’s important MPs have the resources to do their jobs, but many taxpayers will be worried about the soaring cost of politics.

“The electorate expects politicians to stay grounded and keep costs under control, particularly given the Covid pandemic saw many MPs and their staff work from home.

“With taxpayers facing a cost of living crisis, politicians should be doing their utmost to keep their spending down.”