Row over office rental

PRIME minister Gordon Brown is facing accusations he has breached Westminster expenses rules after subletting his constituency office to party colleagues.

The Scottish MP signed a £1600 "sub-under-lease", which allows Labour activists to use part of his taxpayer-funded office in Kirkcaldy.

But Commons rules state MPs "may not sublet accommodation which you lease and pay for out of the allowances".

The prime minister is now "clarifying" his office sublet agreement with the Westminster authorities.

The row stems from the leasing arrangement on the Fife office shared by Brown and Labour MSP Marilyn Livingstone.

The pair began to sublet an office from an insurance company in 2005, a deal worth £13,500 a year in rent to the firm.

Deeds from the National Archives show Brown and Livingstone, in early 2006, then agreed a sub-under-lease with Labour Party Nominees Limited for a yearly charge of £1647.

The deal enables the local Labour Party to use a room in the constituency office as well as sharing amenities with the two politicians. Brown, Livingstone and Scottish general secretary Lesley Quinn all signed the lease.

However, the House of Commons "green book", which sets out the rules on MPs expenses, makes clear subletting accommodation is no longer allowed.

In a section on constituency offices marked "Sublets", the rule states: "In view of the practical difficulties which may arise, you may not sublet accommodation which you lease and pay for out of the allowances."

It adds: "Exceptions may be allowed for sublets existing in January 2002 when this restriction was introduced." Brown's rent deal was signed in 2006.

The rule change came after Henry McLeish resigned as first minister in 2001 after it was revealed he had sublet his constituency office while an MP.

There is no suggestion of Brown or Livingstone benefiting financially from the arrangement, as the local Labour Party is understood to pay rental directly to Holyrood and Westminster. But the sublet raises questions over Brown's compliance with the Commons rules on expenses.

Holyrood's guidance on subletting means Livingstone, MSP for Kirkcaldy, has acted entirely within the rules.

MSPs are allowed to rent out constituency offices, but are advised to provide the Parliament with copies of any rental agreement. MPs, on the other hand, are not allowed to sublet offices.

Livingstone said the sub-under-let was done with Holyrood's blessing: "The Scottish Parliament had to see the lease and make sure it complied with the rules. The local party pays the Parliament and not myself."

Brown's election agent, Alex Rowley, said of the deal: "When the office was set up, we took advice from the Scottish Parliament on the best way to do it.

"The constituency party pay for a glass room at the back of the office, and they paid for 20% of the bigger room during the election campaign. We pay directly to the Scottish Parliament and Westminster."

Asked what the view of the UK Parliament was on the deal, he said. "Because the Scottish Parliament was advising us, they were fine with the arrangements that were made, as I understand it."

Norman Baker, the LibDem MP for Lewes, said of the Brown sublet: "This may well be an innocent mistake, but my understanding of the rules is that this is no longer allowed."

A spokesman for the UK Parliament, when asked when the ban on sublets was introduced, said: "In January 2002, unless you already had an arrangement to sublet. A member would not have been able to enter into a sublet after this point."

In a statement released yesterday, a spokesman for Scottish Labour said: "The House of Commons rules were introduced to prevent any financial benefit accruing to an MP from the sub-letting of offices for which they claim Commons allowances.

"In this case there is no suggestion of any financial gain for the MP and no allowances are claimed in respect of the sublet element of the office.

"These arrangements have been declared in full to the House of Commons authorities who have never raised this as an issue. We will clarify with the Commons authorities that they remain content with these arrangements."