Brown to Repay $20K in Expense Scandal

Gordon Brown has been sent a bill for £12,415 ($19,600) for questionable expense account claims, and the prime minister intends to pay up, 10 Downing St. announced today. The lion’s share of that money was used for housecleaning, with a bit going to gardening and decorating. Both Conservative leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg received nastygrams from an auditor, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Sir Thomas Legg is auditing British lawmakers’ expenses following a string of damaging reports about their outrageous personal spending on the taxpayer dime. He’s set retroactive limits on how much officials should be able to expense in various categories, and will be sending letters to every MP eventually. Cameron’s and Clegg’s were minor compared to Brown’s; Clegg’s been asked to repay £910 ($1,437) in gardening expenses, while Cameron’s been asked to explain some of the money he’s already repaid. (More Gordon Brown stories.)