London, Dec. 11 (ANI): Quentin Davies, a British defence minister, claimed thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money to fix a bell tower and roof on his country home, according to the parliament’s website.

As a new slew of receipts heaped more humiliation on MPs, it emerged that Davies, the Labour MP for Grantham & Stamford, submitted a 20,700-pound invoice in February for repairs to a bell tower and roof at Frampton Hall, in Lincolnshire.

Davies was reimbursed for a quarter of his claim after the parliamentary authorities ruled that he had exceeded the 24,006 pounds annual maximum, The Times reports.Parliament’s website published hundreds of thousands of pages of new claims from 2008-09 totalling more than 10 million pounds.

After the surfacing of the MPs expenses scam, Davis wrote to the authorities claiming that he had never intended to use public money to maintain the bell tower. He added that it was “unfortunate” that a single invoice was issued for repairs to both his roof, which he regarded as a legitimate claim, and the bell tower, which he now says was not. The claims, for April 2008 to June 2009, showed 60 MPs claiming the annual maximum of 24,006 pounds. The average MP claim under the second-home allowance was 18,270.58 pounds. Publication of the claims will make uncomfortable reading for all three party leaders, who all responded to the expenses scandal that unfolded in early May by condemning the system. Gordon Brown received 500 pounds for decorating a “summer house”, as well as invoicing for 175 pounds for grass cutting, 49.50 pounds for ironing and 99 pounds to install Sky TV in his bedroom. (ANI)