MPs could get 40,000 pounds more to pay for 2nd homes

|PIC1|Members of parliament could see their annual salaries increased by as much as 40,000 pounds in turn for giving up expenses allowances for second homes, the Sunday Times reported.

The proposed increase would translate into about 24,000 pounds after tax and would be roughly equal to the maximum currently allowed for expenses related to a second home.

The Sunday Times said the plan was one of three possible options to be put forward by a committee of senior MPs chaired by the speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin.

MPs earn just under 62,000 pounds a year and can claim up to 24,000 pounds with receipts to help with the costs of running both a constituency and a London home.

The committee launched the review of MPs expenses after a Conservative MP Derek Conway was found to have been paying his son from his expenses. A John Lewis list - detailing scores of items from coffee machines to new bathrooms claimed for by MPs - also increased public pressure to clean up the system.

The committee is due to report its recommendations shortly.