John Prescott caught not paying his Council Tax

John Prescott today apologised for "inadvertently" charging the council tax bill for his official London residence to the public purse.

The Deputy Prime Minister admitted £3,830 of taxpayers' money had been paid out on his grace-and-favour apartment in Admiralty House, near Trafalgar Square in London, since 1997.

Mr Prescott, whose department has presided over a hugely unpopular 76 per cent rise in council tax since Labour took power, said the payment was the result of an "inadvertent error... based on a genuine misunderstanding."

The backlog built up because Mr Prescott claimed that Admiralty House, which has a market rental value estimated at £8,000 a month, was his ‘secondary residence’ when in fact it was his main home.

In response to a parliamentary question from the Shadow Secretary for Local Government, Caroline Spelman, he explained: "In 1997, the Government carried on paying council tax as before on the flat and claimed a discount [on a second home basis].

"This was not confirmed with me and nor was any advice given to me at the time. On reviewing the situation, I am now aware that an inadvertent error has occurred, based on a genuine misunderstanding."

The Deputy Prime Minister has a second official residence at Dorneywood, a manor in Buckinghamshire, where the council tax there is covered by an independent trust which owns the house.

He is entitled to claim back the tax on his family home in Hull on parliamentary expenses, meaning that until today the Deputy Prime Minister - whose 'two Jags' nickname has cheekily been upgraded to 'three pads' - paid no council tax out of his own pocket.

Ms Spelman, who has pursued a lengthy campaign over Mr Prescott's unpaid bill, said: "At a time when pensioners are being jailed for not paying their council tax, the public will find it galling that the man who has forced up their bills hasn’t had to pay it himself.

"Conservative pressure has now forced him to pay back the money but it is a shame it has taken him so long to come clean. People will be forgiven for thinking there is one rule for Cabinet Ministers and another for the rest of us."

Sarah Teather, who shadows Mr Prescott’s department for the Liberal Democrats, said: "It is extremely embarrassing for the Government that the man in charge of councils hasn’t paid his council tax for nearly eight years.

"We are relieved to hear that Mr Prescott will be paying his bill as soon as possible, but this situation should never have arisen.

Referring to an internal survey published earlier this week which described the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister as lacking leadership and comparable to a "pantomime horse", she added: "If, as Mr Prescott claims, it was an administrative error, this is simply more proof of the chaotic state of his department."


Other ministers who have apartments in Admiralty House - Geoff Hoon, the leader of the Commons, and Margaret Beckett, the environment secretary - personally pay their council tax already.

Tony Blair pays the council tax for his Downing Street flat out of his own pocket. Gordon Brown has his council tax for his Downing Street apartment paid by the Treasury. A spokesman for Mr Brown said he never stayed in the Downing Street residence and used it only for receptions.

When Labour came to power, council tax on the average band D home in England was £688. It has risen to £1,214, an increase of 76 per cent.

Sylvia Hardy, a pensioner jailed last year for refusing to pay her council tax in full, said she did not have much sympathy for Mr Prescott.

"I can’t understand how it was allowed to have got to such a high amount when I got my first demand letter after I owed the council here £14."

The Times by Simon Freeman

Ed: Mr Prescott is obviously incompetent and should not be trusted. He also thinks the British voter is an idiot