Darling caught putting the national debt on expenses

Chancellor Alistair Darling has been found trying to claim back the hundreds of billions of pounds used to deal with the financial crisis through his MP expenses.

A dossier of receipts, claim forms and IOUs passed to this magazine contained a claim from Mr Darling’s constituency office for £800 billion in ‘home furnishings’ and another £200 billion on ‘staffing and salaries’.

When confronted with the allegations outside the Treasury this morning, Mr Darling initially claimed he was acting within the rules set by parliament. But his office later released a statement saying he had put through the claims in error and would be repaying the money some time in the 22nd century.