August 27, 2015 3.44 pm This story is over 103 months old

Ex-Lincolnshire MP who claimed £2k for moat cleaning given life peerage

New appointment: A former Lincolnshire MP who made national headlines for claiming over £2,000 in expenses to clean his moat, has been given a seat in the House of Lords.
Photo: Graham Smith

A former Lincolnshire MP who made national headlines for claiming over £2,000 in expenses to clean his moat, has been given a seat in the House of Lords.

Douglas Hogg, who was MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham from 1997 until 2010, will return to Parliament to once again vote on laws.

In 2009, the former Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister became one of the symbols of the expenses scandal after it was revealed he had claimed £2,200 for the moat at his Kettlethorpe Hall country estate near Lincoln to be cleaned.

Hogg denied using taxpayers’ money for the clean-up but repaid the cost of the cleaning under pressure from the Conservative Party.

At the time he said: “I entirely understand the public anger that has erupted over expenses. The current system is deeply flawed; we parliamentarians have got it wrong and I apologise for that failure which is both collective and personal.”

Hogg was put forward as a life peer by Prime Minister David Cameron in the 2011 New Year Honours, but it was blocked by the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

As a life peer, he will vote on legislation which has passed through the Commons. He will also be able to claim expenses for accommodation and travel.

Hogg, whose full title is The Right Honourable 3rd Viscount Hailsham, joins 25 other Conservatives, 11 Liberal Democrats, and eight Labour members in accepting peerages to the House of Lords.

Some of the high-profile appointments include the former Foreign Secretary William Hague, businesswoman Michelle Mone, former Chancellor Alistair Darling and Gary Porter, Councillor for South Holland District Council and Chairman of the Local Government Association.

Following the new appointments, the size of the Lords now stands at 826 members.