Is Sarah Teather Ripping the Taxpayer Off?

There have been rumours going round for the past fortnight that Sarah Teather is likely to be asked to pay back some of her parliamentary allowances because of abusing the system. Given the way she has been posing as a saint on the issue, I suppose this is bound to add to her reputation as a shameless hypocrite if it happens.

The 2008 accounts for Brent Liberal Democrats certainly suggest that her "joint tenancy" arrangements with her local party are rather odd. They state:

"The office at 1 High Road is the principal responsibility of Sarah Teather who utilises her parliamentary allowances to pay a large percentage of the operating expenses. We have agreed to pay certain expences of up to £5,000 per year to supplement those allowances and this is achieved by paying the business rates."

Hmm... "principal responsibility" doesn't sound like a very equal joint tenancy arrangement. And not more than £5,000 a year doesn't sound like a high proportion of the cost of a prime commercial site on Willesden High Road.

The 2008 accounts also state that they employ a Borough Organiser with £20,817.50 being paid by Brent Liberal Democrats, and £4,768.08 by Sarah Teather (presumably out of her personal income).