Bounemouth MP says he has nothing to hide

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Bournemouth East MP, Tobias Ellwood has offered to personally explain his expenses claims to residents and urged his colleagues to do the same.

He said: he was "embarrassed and sorry"  for the revelations that MP's have used taxpayers money for a host of items ranging from supplying childrens nappies to fixing a moat. He has offered to share details with constituents but as yet none had asked him to.

Following the series of recent revelations in the Daily Telegraph other local MP's have also said they too will share details of their expense claims.

Mr Ellwood's main residence is in Wandsworth, south west London and his second home is in Bournemouth. Records show that in 2007/08, he claimed a total of £130,186 - £23,083 of which was spent on his second home. He went on to say that he wanted to place full details on his website, but this had proven impractical and that he was now waiting for the Conservative Party to place the details on its official website.

He said that most of his expenses were for utility bills and some basic furniture. He added: "I'm quite happy to go through all my accounts in an appropriate way and I would encourage my colleagues to do the same. Residents have the right to know how their money is spent and share their views if they feel it has been spent inappropriately."