A Labour MP declared his mother's London home as his main residence while claiming thousands of pounds in parliamentary second home allowances for the house in his constituency where his family lived, it has emerged.
Fabian Hamilton also admitted over-charging £2,850 by claiming for the full cost of his mortgage payments in 2004 when he was entitled only to reimbursement of the interest.
When the claim was challenged by the parliamentary authorities, the Leeds North East MP offset some £1,950 of the overpayment by submitting receipts for furniture while agreeing £900 could be docked from his next month's claim to cover the rest.
Details of Mr Hamilton's claims were published in the Daily Telegraph, in the seventh day of revelations about MPs' expenses based on official documents obtained by the paper.
The Telegraph reported that Mr Hamilton spent thousands of pounds doing up his Leeds home before "flipping" his second home designation to a new flat in Maida Vale, north London, in 2006 after the death of his mother.
Shortly before the move, he claimed the £4,400 cost of installing a boiler at his family home, before charging for a £5,000 kitchen in the London flat.
Explaining his claims, Mr Hamilton told the Telegraph: "I spent the majority of my time in London with my mother before her death, paying a substantial sum of money from my own pocket for the upkeep of the house.
"After her death, I moved my main home to Yorkshire because that is where my wife and children were.
"I used local firms to buy the cheapest bathroom and kitchen installation. The mortgage claims were quite an accident. I didn't realise I was claiming until the Fees Office pointed it out. It was an oversight on my part and I offered to pay it back."
The MP recently published on his website his expenses details for 2007/08. They showed that last year he claimed £23,083 - the maximum allowed - for "mortgage interest and upkeep costs on a flat in London for use whilst I am in Parliament".
