A Liberal Democrat lord accused of “milking the taxpayer” by taking money from the government’s furlough scheme and claiming his peer’s allowance has apologised and said he will repay the Treasury.
Lord Fox, the party’s business spokesperson in the House of Lords, has used the job retention scheme to pay himself as the owner of a strategic communications firm and claimed his £162 daily allowance for his work as a peer.
The Telegraph reported he had a £100,000 cash pot in his company and owned two homes worth more than £2m.
Fox said on Thursday: “I recognise my error in judgment and I apologise. I have already begun to repay the money I received as part of the furlough scheme and intend to repay the full amount as soon as possible.”
The Tory MP Richard Halfon said Fox had been “milking the taxpayer at both ends” and urged him to repay the money. He said the scheme had not been intended for people of Fox’s means.
Fox said he had not used the £100,000 pot because he was hoping to tide over the business and relaunch it once the restrictions around the coronavirus pandemic had eased. He also said that had it been inappropriate to draw on the money from the government then HMRC would have told him.
He is the sole employee of Vulpes Advisory and had taken an initial payment from the furlough scheme for one month’s wage subsidy of around £1,000. His work on the House of Lords economic affairs committee, which is being done virtually, has involved four sessions so far, for which he was entitled to claim about £650.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “We’ve made the furlough scheme available to support all employees in the UK, should it be required.
“It’s for particular individuals to explain why they have chosen to apply to the scheme for the people they employ.
“Our focus has always been on the employees, and providing the support they need to keep them connected to the labour market.
“From our point of view, it’s a scheme that exists to support employees across the country, should they need help – and one of the key reasons for it is to allow people to remain attached to the workplace.”