I feel there is some rather interesting information on Nadine Dorries expenses that I feel needs raising.
On her website she claims that during 2005/2006 she claimed £8,123 on Members travel. She claims 'I anticipate that my mileage around the constituency and backwards and forwards from home to London will between 20,000 - 30,000 miles per year.'. Now the quickest route (according to the AA route finder) between Flitwick and the Houses of Parliament at SW1A 0PW,Westminster is 43.6 miles.
Assuming a mid point of 25,000 miles, this equates to 577.36 trips...or 288 return trips. Incidentally the 30,000 miles would be 344 return trips to London.
However Nadine doesn't make a lot of return trips. She claims £21,634 for 'a flat in Westminster' for when 'I don't finish until very late in the evening and start early the next morning'. Now I don't know how many days she doesn't make the return trip back, but I assume it going to be a fair few to justify the 21 grand for a flat.
There is another complicating factor in this. Nadine claim's she gets 'Great holidays'. Well she should do as BBC Website states 'The parliamentary year, or session, normally runs from mid-November until late July.'. Additionally 'Both Houses of Parliament adjourn several times during the parliamentary year. These holiday periods are known as recesses and they usually occur at Christmas, Easter and Whitsun.'
How can she be doing the 25,000 miles if she is not going to need to make the 288 return trips to London. She doesn't need to be there for anything like amount of time- due to the holidays. And lets factor into this the time when she doesn't have to make a return trip that day because she's staying in the 'flat'. So where are all these miles that she using to claim £8,123 on Members travel. Travelling around her 'constituency' Mid-Bedfordshire? I've never seen her.