British expense-account scandal widens

LONDON (AP) — A lawmaker at the center of Britain’s growing expense-account scandal said Saturday he has been humiliated by public revelations about his attempt to get taxpayers to pay for a duck hut on his country estate.

Opposition Conservative Party legislator Peter Viggers’ duck hut — used to shield ducks from predators — has become a potent symbol of expense-account excess in recent days.

He tried in vain to bill taxpayers $2,600 for the structure — just one of many misdeeds in a scandal that has turned British voters against their elected representatives and led many chagrined lawmakers to say they will step down when their current terms are up.

SDLqI have made a ridiculous and grave error of judgment,” said Viggers, who has dropped plans to seek re-election. “I am ashamed and humiliated, and I apologize. As has been reported, my claim for the duck house was rightly ‘not allowed’ by the Fees Office. I paid for it myself, and in fact it was never liked by the ducks and is now in storage.”

Viggers, 71, was told by Conservative Party leader David Cameron not to seek another term after he was found to have sought reimbursement of $47,660 for gardening expenses over three years.

New polls released Saturday indicated that an increasing number of Britons want a national election to be held this year, and there is a strong amount of interest in new candidates from smaller parties rather than the three major parties that have long dominated British politics.

Still, there are no indications that Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose Labour Party is far behind in the polls, plans to risk an early vote. He is required by law to call an election by the middle of next year.

Prominent Labour Party figure Ian McCartney, a former party chairman, on Saturday joined the ranks of lawmakers indicating they will not seek re-election, although he said health problems were to blame.

McCartney made his surprise announcement several days after disclosing that he had paid back nearly $23,800 of expense-account claims for champagne flutes, wine glasses, sofas and other household items.