Three Tory MPs declare for Remembrance Day wreaths on bills

Three Tory MPs billed taxpayers for Remembrance Day wreaths final 12 months, it may be revealed.

Former science minister George Freeman claimed £20 on bills for the price of a commemorative wreath on November 6, 2023. And backbencher Pauline Latham, the MP for Mid-Derbyshire, claimed £18.50 for a wreath of poppies, which she stated had been laid at Duffield’s War Memorial in her constituency.

“I believe it is so important that we continue to remember the lives of brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives for us to enjoy peace and freedom today,” Ms Latham wrote in a submit on her web site. “Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day are crucial opportunities to ensuring their memories are not forgotten.”

Fellow backbencher Duncan Baker’s bills additionally present a declare for £20 for a wreath. But he instructed this newspaper it had been claimed in error and pledged to repay it.

He stated: “I had no idea this had been claimed on my behalf as every other occasion for the last four years I have paid privately for my wreaths. The claim was made by an office employee who no longer is employed by me and the money will be immediately repaid. Had I known, I would never have sanctioned this.”

There’s no suggestion of any wrongdoing by the MPs, and claiming for such objects is inside Parliament’s guidelines.