Nine MPs found claiming £79-a-year Amazon Prime subscriptions on taxpayer-funded expenses
New figures show subscriptions were claimed for in the last three years with some politicians saying they had fallen foul of a ‘subscription trap’ by the online retailer
NINE MPs have been found claiming Amazon Prime subscriptions on taxpayer-funded expenses.
The premium service gives customers unlimited next day delivery and streamed films and TV shows such as The Grand Tour.
New figures show the Members of Parliament claiming for the premium delivery and television service, which costs £79 annually, over the last three years.
The Scottish National Party’s Lisa Cameron is one of the MPs who claimed for the service in the past three year, the reported.
She said: “With the opening of my constituency offices, on a number of occasions equipment was ordered through Prime membership offering longitudinal savings on timeous delivery costs.
“This particular expense was not entered directly by me however, it was undertaken by a former proxy, and until such times as I am able to discuss it with them, I am not able to provide further comment.”
According to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, members can claim for Prime subscriptions but “the MP will need to justify that the subscription is primarily used for parliamentary purposes at the time they submit the claim”.
Cameron is one of three SNP representatives to have claimed for the service – the other two being Stuart Donaldson and Brendan O’Hara – along with Labour politician Mary Creagh.
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The five Tory MPs who also claimed for the service are James Gray, Marcus Fysh, Craig Mackinlay, Will Quince and Scott Mann.
Mr Quince said he “didn’t even know what Amazon Prime was” and that an aide had placed an order for something he needed.
Mr Quince added: “It was him trying to do me a favour by getting it to me the next day rather than waiting three … It was paid back the following month.”
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