Conservative leader David Cameron, tipped to be Britain's next prime minister, said on Thursday he would repay almost 1,000 pounds ($1,640) in expenses he had mistakenly claimed. Cameron, who has sought to take the initiative in a long-running expenses scandal affecting all parties, had already said he would pay back a 680-pound maintenance bill.
But he promised to repay a further 267.29 pounds mainly relating to mortgage payments in 2006. "I'm very sorry about making a mistake like this but I think the best thing to do when you discover it is to deal with it as quickly as possible," Cameron told reporters.
Members of parliament from all parties have been tarnished by weeks of disclosures in the Daily Telegraph newspaper about claims for everything from dog food and adult films to cleaning a moat and a bathplug.