MPs expenses: Bath MP Ben Howlett reimbursed for 17 mileage claims made under £1

The MP’s expenses were part of a total of 117 fuel claims under £1 made by ministers

Conservative MP for Bath Ben Howlett (Wikimedia Commons)

MPs’ expenses have come under scrutiny once more as it emerged there have been 117 mileage claims made by ministers for less than £1 – with 17 claims made by one West Country MP.

Ben Howlett, Conservative MP for Bath, made 17 separate claims under £1 for fuel costs – one for as little as 13p – since the general election, according to stats released by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA).

The 17 claims made between 22 May and 20 June cover a total distance of 23 miles and amount to £10.62. MPs are allowed to claim 45p per mile under House of Commons rules.

Earlier this year MPs such as Andy Burnham came under fire for making a number of travel claims for less than £1, while Tory minister Rob Wilson was found to have made nearly 160 of such claims over the past five years – one of which was a 9p claim for driving 350 yards for a “constituency engagement”.

Mr Howlett said in a statement that he has "stuck to the rules set and agreed by IPSA perfectly".

“When I am in Bath, I try to pack as many visits and meetings as possible in the day and this therefore means frequent short journeys.

“I believe it is important to spend as much of my time in my constituency meeting with constituents and local businesses. Travelling by car is often the most cost effective and time efficient way to do this and my team have a time-efficient system to ensure mileage is accurately recorded.”

He added that he had donated his full pay rise to two local charities, which aim to reduce child poverty and improve the lives of homeless people in Bath.

Scotland Yard confirmed on Friday it is investigating two MPs over their expenses.

IPSA referred the two cases to the Met Police in March this year, and officers have revealed the cases involve two sitting MPs on the suspicion they have committed criminal offences.