Revealed: Iain Duncan Smith has Commons' credit card SUSPENDED after running up £1,000 bill on expenses

• Work and Pensions Secretary owed £1,057 when his card was suspended
• Mr Duncan Smith one of 19 MPs who had their cards cut off by officials
• Labour's Rachel Reeves ran up debts of more than £4,000 on her card
• Money was paid back after officials refused to pay out legitimate expenses 

Iain Duncan Smith had his official credit card suspended after running up more than £1,000 in expenses debts, it can be revealed.

The Work and Pensions Secretary was among more than a dozen MPs hit by the Commons expenses watchdog after failing to show the spending was valid.

The revelation - disclosed in response to a Freedom of Information request – comes despite Mr Duncan Smith previously calling for pre-paid cards for benefits claimants to stop them spending taxpayers' money on alcohol and cigarettes.

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Iain Duncan Smith had his official credit card suspended after running up more than £1,000 in expenses debts, it can be revealed

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority issues MPs with credit cards for to pay for items such as travel and accommodation.

The politicians then have to prove the spending was genuine by the end of the month, or they build up debts to the watchdog.

According to a Freedom of Information request, the expenses watchdog has suspended 19 MPs' credit cards since the beginning of this year because they have not settled outstanding sums.

The debts were then recouped by not paying out valid claims filed by the politicians.

Mr Duncan Smith's card was blocked when he owed £1,057.28. He does not currently have any debt.

Others to have their cards suspended included his Labour opposite number Rachel Reeves, who owed £4,033.63 at the time.

Shadow business minister Toby Perkins was subject to action when he owed £693.30.

Health minister Ben Gummer had his card stopped with £1,290.07 outstanding, defence minister Mark Lancaster had a £600 tab, and former universities minister David Willetts owed £1,172.05.

Disgraced former Labour MP Eric Joyce, who assaulted a fellow MP in a Commons bar, had his card blocked when he owed £12,919.61, and later had his salary docked.

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Former Labour MP Eric Joyce (left) ran up a bill on his Commons credit card of more than £12,000, while the shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves (right) spent more than £4,000

Liberal Democrat Simon Hughes had a stop placed on his card when he owed £826.56.

All have since cleared their debts.

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority also released information about 25 MPs who had sums outstanding as of this week.

DUP MP Ian Paisley owed £13,833.38 on June 29. He previously had his card blocked when his tab hit £6,195.94.

Lib Dems Stephen Gilbert and Mike Crockart had their cards stopped when they owed £2,925.76, and £720.64 respectively. Mr Gilbert owed £13.50 this week and Mr Crockart £90.

An Ipsa spokesman stressed that the debts from June 29 were a 'snapshot' and in many cases could merely be awaiting evidence from MPs that they were valid claims.

'An MP may owe an amount to Ipsa for many different reasons, and the fact that an amount is owed does not, in itself, indicate any misuse of the MPs' Scheme of Business Costs and Expenses,' the spokesman said.

'As part of our credit management programme, MPs are sent financial statements detailing their monthly position with Ipsa. Where MPs have amounts owed to Ipsa, action is taken to recover these amounts.'

REVEALED: HOW MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT RAN UP THOUSANDS OF POUNDS IN CREDIT CARD DEBTS 

MP - CREDIT CARD DEBT
Ben Gummer - œ£1,290.07	Mark Lancaster - £œ600.00
Brian Binley - œ£575.02	Mike Crockart - £œ720.64
David Willetts - œ£1,172.05	Pamela Nash - £œ6,929.29
Debbie Abrahams - ϣ2,586.90	Paul Farrelly - ϣ213.00
Eric Joyce - ϣ12,919.61	Rachel Reeves - ϣ4,033.63
Iain Duncan Smith - œ£1,057.28	Simon Danczuk -£ œ3,645.67
Ian Liddell-Grainger - £œ1,023.94	Simon Hughes - œ£826.56
Ian Paisley - ϣ6,195.94	Stephen Gilbert - ϣ2,925.76
Jack Dromey - ϣ1,328.46	John Woodcock - ϣ1,756.13

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