Bethnal Green and Bow: "inner London" "MP" George Galloway makes a return appearance in the DAILY TELEGRAPH

George Galloway: Christmas cards claim on MPs' expenses was rejected
George Galloway, the controversial left-wing MP thrown out of the Labour Party, tried to charge the taxpayer for the cost of Christmas cards sent from his constituency office


Last Updated: 11:57AM BST 31 May 2009

George Galloway Photo: Abbie Trayler-Smith
The Respect MP for the east London constituency of Bethnal Green and Bow – where many of his constituents are Muslim – submitted a claim for £32 on his Incidental Expenses Provision for the festive greetings cards.
However, the claim was rejected by the Parliamentary fees office, who informed the MP it was against the rules.

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In a letter to Mr Galloway a member of the fees office stated: "The Department of Resources disallows costs relating to Christmas cards as they do not fall within the remit of this allowance."
On Saturday night, Mr Galloway said the claim was a "simple error" by a new member of staff.
As an MP for an inner-London constituency Mr Galloway is not eligible to claim a second home allowance. He did however receive a £1,978 supplement for MPs from the capital last year.
The previous year he received the maximum £2,712 London allowance.
An analysis carried out earlier this year by The Sunday Telegraph found that Mr Galloway, who was expelled from the Labour Party in 2003 for accusing Tony Blair and President George Bush of acting "like wolves" in Iraq, represents the least value for money for his constituents of any MP.
The analysis was based on a breakdown of how much each of the UK's 646 MPs claimed in expenses compared to their work in Parliament, with Ulster MPs and Ministers excluded from the list.
Mr Galloway turned up for just five per cent of votes, spoke in only four debates and submitted just three questions to Ministers. Despite this he claimed a total of £136,390 in expenses last year, including office and staffing.
Once his attendance, voting and speaking record was taken into account Mr Galloway ranked bottom in terms of value for money.
However, he rejected claims that he is one of the least hard-working MPs, contrasting himself with "backbench poodles with pagers who pipe up for any policy in order to keep in with their party whips and advance their careers".
Last year Mr Galloway was also paid £10,000 from the public purse in order to reimburse his friend and political assistant Ron McKay for setting up and running his constituency website and designing constituency leaflets.
Mr McKay had originally submitted a bill for £11,815, but this was reduced by the fees office as some of the items claimed for did not fall under the remit of the Communications Allowance.
Mr Galloway, who has appeared as a house mate in Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother, also claimed £17,721 in office costs under his Incidental Expenses Provision and £94,000 in staffing allowance last year.
Before his victory in Bethnal Green and Bow in the 2005 general election, Mr Galloway represented the Labour stronghold of Glasgow Kelvin. This entitled him to a second home allowance, which in 2004/05 he claimed in full.
That year he submitted an Additional Costs Allowance claim for £22,637, including £12,000 for rent on his Glasgow flat, £3,500 for food, £3,837 for telephone and communications and £1,700 for cleaning and maintenance.
This was reduced by the fees office to £20,902, the maximum allowed under the rules.
Mr Galloway last night staunchly defended his record as an MP, describing himself as "one of the 'best-value'".
He pointed out that his constituency office is one of the busiest in the country, handling thousands of complex personal cases a year, and that he partly subsidises the employment of five members of staff out of fees received for his media work.
He said: "I have written literally thousands of letters over the last four years on behalf of constituents and followed up their cases.
"I am in the House of Commons almost every day, including Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
"It is pointless to vote in most votes when the votes themselves are a foregone conclusion. Moreover, Parliamentary questions are used by many MPs for grandstanding."
Mr Galloway said: "I believe that the Telegraph group's revelations on MPs expenses have been, in the main, legitimate, but I believe I am both a prominent MP and one of the 'best value' for both my constituents and beyond, and not the MP you seek to portray."