Home Robertson�s deal with son �left parliament open to criticism�

A Labour MSP who has been criticised for billing the taxpayer for staying in his son's flat was warned about his behaviour six years ago.

The then presiding officer, Sir David Steel, told John Home Robertson that his rental agreement was leaving himself and the parliament "open to criticism".

But the politician sidestepped the complaint by insisting he could not face the "hassle" of decorating another property.

The revelations are contained in letters released by the parliament concerning Home Robertson's controversial living arrangements.

The Sunday Herald recently disclosed that the MSP was charging the public £7000 a year to stay in his son's Edinburgh flat through the parliament's Edinburgh Allowance Scheme (EAS).

Patrick Home Robertson bought the £72,000 property, at the age of 17, days before his father was elected as an MSP. No mortgage was taken out on the flat.

The Labour MSP, who announced his intention to stand down days after his rental arrangements were made public, insisted he had done nothing wrong.

However, correspondence released by Holyrood shows that officials were concerned about his use of the allowances regime six years ago.

Presiding officer Steel asked Home Robertson in March 2000 to provide further information on his rent deal as a way of helping officials decide whether it was "within the spirit" of the rules.

Having received the additional details, Steel wrote to the MSP regarding the concerns of the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body (SPCB) about members renting from relatives. He noted that officials "could not legally withhold payment", but he flagged up his anxieties about Home Robertson's conduct.

"We believe, however," he wrote, "that this sort of arrangement, whereby you rent from a close family member, could leave you open to criticism if it were to get into the public domain. Since we had in effect endorsed your arrangements by agreeing to reimburse them, there could also be criticism of the SPCB."

He also told Home Robertson that the SPCB was minded to recommend that renting from relatives should be "spe- cifically proscribed".

But the MSP claimed his rent deal was signed in "good faith" and said that any move to outlaw the practice of renting from family members should not apply to him.

"My concern is that the application of the suggested change to the rules might be applied to existing leases, which would compel me to move out of my flat and find another one.

"Apart from the obvious cost and hassle of flat-hunting and flitting, I don't think that I could face another bout of decorating, carpetting sic and curtain making," he wrote.

The documents also revealed that Home Robertson's son has received around £43,000 from the public in rent.

Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan condemned the Labour politician. "Home Robertson has a lot to answer for over this new revelation that he was aware six years ago his claim could be seen in a poor light," he said.

Home Robertson could not be contacted for comment yesterday.