Now the Indy says: 'MPs don't pay for dinner'

A story in the Independent backs up BBC business editor Robert Peston's claim that MPs don't pay for meals - if there is a journalist around to pick up the tab.

Michael Savage writes:"From 13p staple removers to £500 mock-antique dressers, there are few items that cannot be found among the thousands of claims made by Britain's MPs over the past five years. But one item remains oddly absent: few ever seem to have paid for dinner.

"More than 30 MPs have been shown to have claimed the maximum £400 allowance for food every month last year. But while many claim for the odd bite of lunch, their bills for dinner are almost always paid for by the journalists wining and dining them."
Savage adds: "One exception is the Culture Secretary, Ben Bradshaw, who offers a rare example of an MP picking up the tab, albeit passed on to the taxpayer. A receipt from the Blue Fish restaurant in St Ives shows he and his guests enjoyed Pinot blanc, potted crab, monkfish, calamari, and fruit pudding. And it cost us only £100.45. Cheers!"