Michael Martin, the House of Commons Speaker, faced a fresh storm over his expenses last night after it emerged that he used air miles earned on official business to fly relatives from Glasgow to London over new year.

His adult children Mary Ann and Paul, with their families, saved around £360 a head by using the perks accrued when Mr Martin was travelling for work. The trip fell in a period when Martin's use of taxpayers' money was already under attack, amid reports that his wife had clocked up a bill of £4,000 taking taxis to do the shopping for official functions.

A spokesman for the Speaker told the Press Association that his son had paid £309 and his daughter £230.50 towards the total flight costs. However, the return flights for seven family members were worth an estimated £3,090.50.

Ministers are banned from using air miles accrued on official trips, and are expected to put them towards reducing the cost of future ministerial travel or donate them to charity.

The revelations in today's Sunday Mirror will cast fresh doubt on whether Martin is the right person to chair the current parliamentary inquiry into MPs' expenses, which was set up to restore public confidence following the row over MP Derek Conway hiring his son Henry as a researcher.

Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP who has pushed for reform of Westminster perks, said: 'This will further damage public confidence in the system of parliamentary expenses. A benefit which is accrued because of spending by the taxpayer should be returned to the taxpayer.'

The Martins' use of air travel has already come under scrutiny, after freedom of information requests revealed that Mrs Martin had spent £24,000 of taxpayers' money flying between London and Glasgow, where the family is based.

(source)