Paterson urged to come good on allowances

THE DUP's Upper Bann MP David Simpson has called on the new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to clarify his party's stance on the withdrawal of Westminster allowances from abstentionist MPs in the House of Commons.

Mr Simpson said, “I congratulate Owen Paterson on his appointment as Secretary of State and I wish him well during his tenure at the NIO. However, some months ago Mr Patterson gave a commitment to end the payment of Westminster allowances to abstentionist MPs.

“At the time he said ‘I think that it is inconceivable that incoming Conservative MPs would vote to continue paying millions of pounds of public money to elected members who do not take their seats’ (Guardian 8 April 2009).

“Now that Owen Paterson has been officially appointed as the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland I would ask him to clarify this comment and indicate if the Government will now use its position to remove allowances from MPs who do not take their seats.