Hazel Blears Does Not Steal TVs From Comet: She Buys Them And Gives The Taxpayer The Bill
WANT to know why the middle classes are cynical and the rioting youth greedy, vicious, selfish, fit and stupid? Ideas below, please. Meanwhile Salford and Eccles Labour MP tells media:
“In the past we have had anti-social behaviour out of control, but we got a grip of that and this behaviour is just mindless and pointless. The vast majority of people are great citizens in Salford and Eccles.”
Tsk! Theft of tellies and stuff is wrong.
And who is Hazel Blears? Well:
Miss Blears, who as Communities Secretary is responsible for housing policy, also spent time in one of London’s most fashionable hotels paid for from public funds. In March, 2004, Miss Blears stated that her second home was the property she owned in her Salford constituency. During that month she bought an £850 television set and video recorder from Selfridges, and a £651 mattress from Marks & Spencer.
And gave the taxpayer the bill. Go on:
Her mortgage on the Salford property, which she has owned with her husband since June, 1997, was £300 a month. The following month she changed her declaration and began claiming that a flat in Kennington, south London, was her second home. She started claiming £850 a month for the mortgage on the flat.
In August, 2004, she sold the flat for £200,000, making a profit of £45,000.
The BBC reported:
Blears has admitted she did not pay capital gains tax (CGT) on the £45,000 profit from the flat sale and has agreed to repay £13,332. CGT is charged at 40% on the sale of homes the Inland Revenue does not consider to be a main residence. At the time, it was registered as her second home for expenses purposes. Ms Blears said she had complied with both Commons and Revenue and Customs rules but had agreed to repay the tax anyway. Ms Blears said her outlay on furnishings – such as mattresses and pillows – was “reasonable”. She added that her use of an accountancy firm was in line with Commons rules.
The buyer of her profitable pad was Baroness Henig, a former Labour MP from Lancashire.
Who she? Back to the Telegraph:
Baroness Henig was also the chairman of the Association of Police Authorities and Miss Blears was the Home Office minister responsible for police reform at the time.
You might well clack your tongue. But the Telegraph is exact:
There is no suggestion of impropiety.
Well, sort of exact. It meant to say impropriety, probably… Anyhow, Blears was all above board and legal.
After selling the south London flat, Miss Blears stayed at hotels in London during September and October, 2004, at taxpayers’ expense. She spent two nights at the Zetter hotel in Clerkenwell, where rooms cost £211 a night. It had just been voted one of the world’s “50 coolest hotels” by Condé Nast and the Frommers guidebook said of the Zetter: “Heaven will be a let-down after this.”
Well. She’s worth it.
In December, 2004, the minister bought another London flat for £300,000. The monthly mortgage was more than £1,000 and Miss Blears initially claimed the maximum £400 a month for groceries.
During the next four months, Miss Blears spent £4,874 on furniture, £899 on a new bed and £913 on a new TV — the second funded by the taxpayer in less than a year.
See. Stealing tellies is wrong. You need to buy one… like Hazel Blears.
In 2004-05, the minister spent just £94 less than the then maximum permitted allowance of £20,902.
See, kids. That Is what the adults call self-control and not taking the piss.
The expense claims continued during the 2005-06 financial year. In March 2006, in the run-up to the deadline for claims, Miss Blears spent £668 on bed linen and curtains, £439 on crockery and kitchen equipment and more than £200 on bath towels.
A spokesman for Miss Blears said: “All Hazel Blears’ claims for allowances are in line with the rules, and have been approved by the fees office. To do her job as MP for Salford, she has to have accommodation in London to be near the House of Commons. This accommodation includes a bed with a mattress, blankets and pillows, and a television.”
It’s a veritable cell, allegedly…
In oyhr news, in 2009, Hazel said:
“We witnessed this in the 1980s and early 1990s, and at its most extreme, it culminated in cars and buildings burning on the streets of Brixton, Birmingham, and Liverpool.”
Was she right?
Posted: 9th, August 2011 | In: Politicians Comment (1) | TrackBack | Permalink
