How ‘man of the people’ Burnham used £16,000 of taxpayers’ cash to help buy himself a new London flat

Andy Burnham’s devotion to the north is said to be so great that he will continue to live there when he becomes Prime Minister, even shunning the privileged flat in Downing Street along with his job.

However, he was not always so opposed to building his home in the capital at public expense.

In his first stint as a Labor MP, he claimed Parliamentary expenses to rent a flat in a notorious luxury apartment complex near Westminster.

When Dolphin Square, home to spies and prostitutes as well as politicians, was sold in 2005, each of its residents received tens of thousands of pounds to give up their leases and move out.

But while many MPs give their own money to Parliament officials, Mr Burnham struck a unique deal; This meant he could add almost all of his £18,200 windfall to his already generous second home allowance.

The deal allowed him and his wife, Marie-France Van Heel, to use taxpayers’ money to buy and renovate a £215,000 flat in south London, which they still own.

During the MPs’ expenses scandal in 2009, it was revealed that Mr Burnham had made a single expenses claim of £16,644, which included stamp duty and legal fees as well as a new kitchen, to cover the purchase of the property.

By claiming the windfall was a parliamentary expense, Mr Burnham avoided having to pay thousands of pounds in Capital Gains Tax, a tax his allies wanted him to increase when he became Prime Minister.

When Dolphin Square, pictured, was sold in 2005, its residents were each receiving tens of thousands of pounds to abandon their leases and move.

Kilner House in Kennington – which Mr Burnham bought after negotiating a unique deal that meant he could add almost the entire £18,200 windfall to his already generous second-home allowance.

He insisted at the time: ‘To suggest that I set out to avoid capital gains tax is complete nonsense. My file shows that I made arrangements to pay all of this money to the fees office and all arrangements were signed by them. ‘At no stage did I gain any personal benefit from this transaction.’

MPs had a tense relationship with the House of Commons Fees Office, which approves expenses for second homes, but many requests were delayed or rejected.

In a plaintive letter dated December 2005, he wrote: ‘I would be very grateful if you could help me. [the expenses] Payment can be made in the last round of the year on Friday. Otherwise I may be in danger of divorce!’

In a rather unusual development, his wife also participated in correspondence with the authorities about the renovations, once writing: ‘I tried to include the bulk of the bills but there were always a few missing.’

Mr Burnham was turned down when he applied for mortgage interest on both the flat in Lambeth (allowed at the time) and his house in the north-west constituency.

On another occasion he made an improper claim for mortgage capital in lieu of interest.

He even received a discount on his £119 bill from Ikea after his request for a £19.99 bathrobe was rejected.

When the story emerged, Mr Burnham, then the Culture Secretary, insisted he had claimed less for his expenses than he could have.

‘I would like to make clear in the strongest possible terms that I resent any allegation that I have knowingly misused public funds, as public records show that I have underclaimed my ACA over the past five years. [Additional Costs Allowance] Around £40,000,’ he said in a statement.

Burnham and his wife, Marie-France Van Heel, during an earlier Labor Party leadership race

‘I believe this shows quite clearly that I have always tried to work within the rules and spirit of the parliament’s Green Paper and that I have neither sought extravagant nor luxurious expenses during my time in Parliament.’

A year later he faces fresh pressure to repay his Dolphin Square windfall after the House of Commons’ wretched watchdog found that other MPs living in the bloc were flouting the rules by pocketing their own.

Four Liberal Democrats were told they had made ‘serious misjudgments’ and were ordered to pay back some of the money.

But a spokesman for Mr Burnham, who is not being investigated by the Standards Commissioner, claimed his use of the payment ‘allowed him to avoid making a claim for costs and saved taxpayers thousands of pounds’.

‘He believes any further action would be a waste of public money… Mr Burnham has no personal gain,’ the spokesman said.

Figures published by the MPs’ pay agency show Mr Burnham claimed £10,700 for accommodation in 2010-11; this included £6,802 for mortgage interest before the rules changed.

Under the revised scheme he was reimbursed £14,499 for rent and £1,100 for council tax by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) the following year.

When he resigned in 2017 his rent rose to £18,214.

Former Labor MP Simon Danczuk, who has written a book about the infamous history of Dolphin Square, told the Daily Mail: ‘It is surprising that Burnham now wants to spend time in Manchester; He enjoyed living in the infamous Dolphin Square in SW1, which was home to various politicians, spies and prostitutes over the years.

‘In fact, when the flat was sold in 2005 Burnham received a personal bonus of £18,200 from the new landlord by agreeing to leave the complex, even though her rent was paid by the taxpayer. This only came to light in the 2009 expenses scandal.’

He continued: ‘Burnham’s windfall became a point of contention within Parliament’s fees department, but they eventually relented after his claim was rejected three times over several months.

‘The money went towards the purchase and renovation of another flat in London for Burnham. Despite her recent reluctance to spend time in London, it wasn’t so long ago that Burnham was living here and enjoying playing the property market.’