MP says property claim was wrong

Stephen Crabb said the meeting saw a 'range of opinions expressed'

A Conservative MP says he was wrong to claim £9,300 stamp duty on his home while renting a flat in London.

Preseli Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Crabb faced voters at a public meeting in his constituency to explain the claim.

He said he took responsibility for the claim, which he was advised to make, and has offered to repay the money.

He said: "There is this one thing in my expense claim history in the past four years that is difficult for me to explain to local people, to justify."

Mr Crabb was among a number of MPs holding public meetings in their constituencies on Friday to explain their expenses claims.

Around 150 people packed out the Picton Centre in Haverfordwest to hear why he named his west Wales family house as his second home while renting in London.

The meeting was called after the Daily Telegraph reported Mr Crabb claimed £9,300 in stamp duty on the property before he "flipped" his second home allowance to his London base.

Mr Crabb had previously said he planned to talk through the allegations that appeared in the Daily Telegraph because "most of what appeared in that story wasn't quite correct".

Mr Crabb started the meeting by handing out printouts of his expenses from the last four years.

The one question that none of us [MPs] were asking, none of us, was, in the cold light of day, in front of your constituents, how does this look? Preseli Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Crabb

He spoke for around an hour, explaining his expenses claims and the actions he had taken.

He said he had become increasingly "uncomfortable" about the stamp duty claim after he began renovating his Pembrokeshire property and in August last year asked for his constituency home to be listed as his main home.

After the meeting, Mr Crabb said the event had seen a "range of opinions expressed" with some being "angry and vocal" while others were "sympathetic but with questions".

Mr Crabb named his Pembrokeshire family house as his second home

He said: "It looks odd to them, at best, and for some people it would look offensive that I was able to retrospectively claim stamp duty on a home that I had bought in Pembrokeshire."

He said he had questioned the advice he was given at the time from the fees' office - to make the claim on the basis he was "clearly spending more nights in London"- but took responsibility for going ahead with it.

He added: "The one question that none of us [MPs] were asking, none of us, was, in the cold light of day, in front of your constituents, how does this look?

"I'm not here to blame the fees office, or blame the system or blame the advice.

"I'm taking responsibility for a claim that now, in the cold light of day, in front of my constituents, looks difficult to justify, and appears wrong to them."

When asked if he thought the claim was wrong, he replied: "Yes."