Birmingham MP cleared of breaches in expenses rule
An investigation found Labour MP Tahir Ali was 'careful with public spending'
Birmingham MP Tahir Ali has been cleared of breaching Parliament's expenses rules following an investigation by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa).
An investigation was opened into Mr Ali in May 2025, over questions about his office costs, travel and accommodation expenses.
In a report clearing him on Thursday, Ipsa’s compliance officer Matt Walker said Mr Ali had committed “no breaches” of Parliament’s expenses policy.
He found that while Mr Ali had ordered three mobile phone handsets from a supplier that should not have made them available, they were still “claimable business costs”.
Mr Walker said any discrepancies in claims for travel and hotel accommodation by the MP, were due to “dating errors”.
He added: “My investigation revealed that (Mr Ali) is in fact careful with spending public money.
“When he moved from his former constituency office into his current office, (Mr Ali) made the decision to remove and reuse anything that was possible to reuse, which had been funded by Ipsa.”
As well as reusing window blinds and kitchen units, Mr Ali attempted to have the laminate flooring he had installed in his old office removed and reused in his new one.
The investigation also found Mr Ali had paid for new LED lighting and some electrical works at his constituency office out of his own pocket, which Mr Walker said would have come “at quite a considerable cost”.
Mr Walker said: “(Mr Ali) covered costs himself, advising me that this was as he is very protective of the public purse.
“I advised (Mr Ali) that where a cost is claimable, he should claim it and there is no expectation that he covers some costs himself.”