How Ruth Kelly's expenses saga unfolded (From The Bolton News)

How Ruth Kelly's expenses saga unfolded

7:46am Friday 22nd May 2009

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Monday

WHEN asked why she hadn’t claimed for the damage on her household insurance, a spokesman for the MP, who will stand down at the next General Election, said: “Ruth can’t find any record of an insurance policy that would have covered it and doesn’t seem to have claimed for a policy.”

Tuesday

The Bolton News was told Ms Kelly DID have insurance. But when pressed for a reason why taxpayers were asked to foot the bill despite taking out an insurance policy, Ms Kelly said she couldn’t remember.

Wednesday

She then released a statement on Wednesday afternoon saying: “I was not in the constituency when the burst pipe was discovered, and the urgent work was commissioned on my behalf using a local contractor. At the same time, I also undertook routine maintenance and refurbishment of the property. I do not know whether this work would have been covered by the insurance policy in any case.

“With the passage of time I honestly cannot recall now why I did not claim on the insurance policy and, as I have stated, I do not know if any such claim would have been met in full or part.

What I am clear about is that I have acted in good faith throughout and have broken neither the letter nor, just as importantly, the spirit of the rules.”

Thursday

Yesterday morning, a member of staff from Ms Kelly’s constituency office in Westhoughton said that any insurance claim could have been rejected if the insurance policy had an ‘unoccupancy clause’.

And at lunchtime yesterday, Ms Kelly finally confirmed that the insurance policy she had on the Horwich property — which she bought for £109,000 in 2001 — did have a specific exclusion which meant she was not covered for the damage caused by the burst pipe because she was not in the property at the time.

andrew.greaves@ theboltonnews.co.uk

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