A Minister brought in to help write the cash-saving Budget spent £900 of public money on a desk, it can be revealed.
Documents obtained by the Daily Mail show Torsten Bell also charged taxpayers £600 for three chairs for his office and claimed more than £200 on his Parliamentary expenses for professional help to assemble the furniture.
Critics condemned the spending by Mr Bell. William Yarwood, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said: ‘If Torsten Bell can’t manage expenses responsibly, how can taxpayers trust him to manage the nation’s finances?’
Mr Bell, 43, led the Resolution Foundation think-tank, championing increasing inheritance tax on family farms, before he was parachuted into the Swansea West seat.
In August it emerged Chancellor Rachel Reeves had appointed him to help her fill a £30billion Budget black hole.
Figures published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) watchdog show Mr Bell has spent £2,718 of taxpayers’ cash on office equipment since the election.
Receipts obtained by this newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act reveal his spree included an £877 oak desk from Domli, which boasts an electronic adjustment system.
But days later in February, Mr Bell appeared to have sent it back as he was refunded. The following month he put in a £1,056 Ikea receipt including three desks at £150 each. Mr Bell included the £112 charge for ‘assembly’ in his expenses claim.
Documents obtained by the Daily Mail show Torsten Bell also charged taxpayers £600 for three chairs for his office and claimed more than £200 on his Parliamentary expenses for professional help to assemble the furniture
Figures published by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) watchdog show Mr Bell has spent £2,718 of taxpayers’ cash on office equipment since the election
Receipts obtained by this newspaper under the Freedom of Information Act reveal his spree included an £877 oak desk from Domli, which boasts an electronic adjustment system
He also claimed £596 for three ‘ergonomic office chairs’. In April he claimed £113 for ‘furniture assembly’.
The receipt said it was to construct ‘three desk chairs’ and ‘one seat’. A spokesman for Mr Bell said: ‘Torsten significantly underspent the allowance given to new Members of Parliament to cover setting up an office.’
