Top Tory MP to quit over expenses scandal

A top Conservative Party parliamentarian has said he would resign,as Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke out about the damaging row.

A top Conservative Party parliamentarian,who paid more than 100,000 pounds of expenses to his own company,has said he would resign,as Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke out about the damaging row.

David Wilshire,the MP for Spelthorne in Surrey,made the announcement to resign at the next election after attempting to defend his allowance claims to the Tory leadership.

He said the investigation into his controversial arrangements would cause “great distress” to his family and friends.

“These allegations also run the risk of harming my local party and our national party’s chances of winning at the next general election.” he said.

In May,The Daily Telegraph newspaper started revealing how MPs spent taxpayers’ money on everything from a duck island to gardening,triggering a wave of resignations including then House of Commons speaker Michael Martin,the first holder of the post to be forced out in 300 years.

The scandal has been splashed in the media because ex-civil servant Thomas Legg — appointed to audit MPs’ expenses from the last five years — has asked many to pay money back.

British premier Brown,who is battling to avoid defeat in elections scheduled for next June,underlined the need for “a new system” to make it more transparent.