Robert Courts MP repays £3k for House of Commons 'stationery misuse'

Robert Courts said using the stationery was a "genuine mistake"

An MP has repaid more than £3,000 to the House of Commons after he used its pre-paid envelopes to send campaign updates to his constituents.

Robert Courts, MP for Witney in Oxfordshire, breached rules by using the official stationery, the parliamentary commissioner found.

He refunded the house authorities £3,010.99 for misusing the envelopes.

Mr Courts told the BBC: "This was a genuine mistake, for which I have apologised and repaid the money."

In her resolution letter, Kathryn Stone, parliamentary commissioner for standards, found that he breached the rules for the use of "postage-paid envelopes provided by the House of Commons, and for the use of the crowned portcullis".

The Code of Conduct for Members states that the house-provided stationery is for "correspondence with constituents... questionnaires and surveys".

'Innocuous letter'

Mr Courts' mailshot contained a survey, but a covering letter included updates on policy areas of schools, health, transport and the environment.

In a reply to the commissioner Mr Courts said he thought it was an "innocuous letter".

He added: "I was at the time a very new MP, having served for only about a year... and this was the first such exercise I had undertaken.

"I simply made a mistake, and had no intention at any time other than to facilitate quick, easy, convenient access for my constituents to their new MP."

Mr Courts admitted he had "inadvertently strayed into providing views on multiple issues and therefore breached the code".

The commissioner concluded that while Mr Courts acted in breach of the rules, it was "at the less serious end of the spectrum".