Alex Salmond's opponents yesterday attacked the cost of his rare visits to the House of Commons, alleging his average appearance at Westminster cost £23,000 in expenses while First Minister at Holyrood.
Of the total of £130,364 claimed since April last year, the SNP leader claimed £14,000 on leasing a London flat which he has rarely used. He gave that up at the end of last year and now stays in a hotel when he travels south.
Since becoming First Minister, and while remaining Westminster MP for Banff and Buchan, he has only been to the Commons on six occasions, and has voted a total of 18 times during those visits.
At Holyrood, he represents the seat of Gordon, meaning a different constituency case load, so he continues to run a constituency and Westminster office for Banff and Buchan, including two researchers and a secretary, adding up to £85,000 of salaries as part of the total cost.
Labour MSP Jackie Baillie accused the First Minister of "taking the taxpayer for a ride", alleging the cost per night for paying the rent on Mr Salmond's flat amounted to eight times the cost of staying at the five-star Ritz Hotel.
"For a man who doesn't believe in the Westminster Parliament he has a funny way of showing it, at least when it comes to the scale of his own London expenses," she said.
But the Nationalists hit back, saying Mr Salmond had been more involved in Westminster affairs than other First Ministers in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland who have retained seats in the Commons.
The SNP leader's aides explained that he had published his expense claims online earlier this month, after finding Labour had lodged a request under the Freedom of Information Act. He wrote then to Michael Martin, the Commons Speaker, calling for MPs to follow the example of the Scottish Parliament and publish their expenses on a quarterly basis.
A spokesman for Mr Salmond said: "This is a pitiful effort from Labour and an embarrassing blunder. Everything is entirely open, proper, and above board."
Nanette Milne, Tory MSP for North-East Scotland called for him to resign from the Commons and spark a by-election. "These figures are appalling," she said. "Alex Salmond has cost the taxpayer £23,000 for every time he has set foot in Westminster."
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