David Curry was our Conservative Euro MP back in the 1980s. He’s now in Westminster, as the MP for Skipton and Ripon, and what’s he’s been the chairman of the parliamentary standards and privileges committee.
Some of our local long-active Conservatives may well have helped get him elected back in the ’80s,and they may still see him as he still lives in Saffron Walden (but represents a Yorkshire constituency) so they will be especially galled to read the latest in the Telegraph:
MPs’ expenses: The Tory MP, his mistress and ?30,000 for love nest
David Curry, the MP who heads the committee responsible for policing Commons expenses, has claimed almost ?30,000 for a second home that his wife has banned him from staying in, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.
After learning of The Telegraph investigation last night, David Curry resigned as chairman of the parliamentary standards and privileges committee and now faces a formal inquiry into his claims.
The Skipton and Ripon MP, 65, is accused of having an affair with a headmistress in his constituency and using a taxpayer-funded cottage to meet his lover.
Our investigation has learned that four years ago, after discovering the affair, Mr Curry?s wife, Anne, demanded that he no longer stayed at the Yorkshire property as a condition of their reconciliation.
However, the former minister has continued claiming thousands of pounds a year for the house ? which he could expect to sell for a substantial profit after leaving Parliament.
Last night, after The Telegraph approached Mr Curry with the allegations, he announced that he was referring himself to the Parliamentary Commissioner. He said he would stand down from the standards committee during the investigation, which is expected to take several months.
The committee has been criticised for taking a sympathetic position towards MPs accused of misconduct. It has been questioned for failing to adequately punish MPs including Jacqui Smith and Tony McNulty, who were attacked for expense claims running into tens of thousands of pounds….
The national Conservative website Conservativehome covers the story here – lots of unhappy comments.
Update: the Guardian reports here that Mr Curry is saying his expenses were “very modest” and “completely above board”.